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RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
Violence and riots now common in New Zealand prisons, staff union says
Prison guards and staff now face more and more violent incidents and riots, with prisoners more concentrated, their union says a day after a riot at Waikato's Spring Hill facility. Photo: Corrections / Chai Patel Violence and riots in prisons are now increasingly common as a result of higher prison populations, a group representing Corrections staff says, a day after a fiery prison riot in Waikato. On Saturday afternoon a group of prisoners refused to leave an exercise yard at Spring Hill Corrections Facility south of Meremere, damaging property and lighting fires, resulting in the prison going into lockdown. Firefighters and ambulance crews were sent to the facility and a specialist Advanced Control and Restraint team was dispatched. President of the Corrections Association, the union for Corrections workers, Floyd du Plessis told RNZ their staff were facing more and more violent incidents, and outdated staffing levels were compounding the problem. "It's a very dangerous situation. Anytime when you've got a number of prisoners threatening harm, reports of potential weapons, it's definitely a dangerous situation for staff, and it's only through the training and fast thinking of staff that [they are] able to bring it to a close relatively quickly and safely." The events on Saturday had been isolated to the yard and contained by staff, he said: "There was no risk of it spreading further in the way that the staff managed to deal with it and bring it to a close." Riots were not uncommon in New Zealand prisons, du Plessis said, and they were increasing. "We have events like this that happen on a regular basis across the country. There's just some of them that tend to become public knowledge and shared wider. But it's actually more common than people realise. "Spring Hill itself is one of those prisons that do hold quite a number of high profile prisoners, volatile prisoners. And so you do have these incidents that do tend to come at that higher level. "The reality is these situations are getting more common, they are becoming more violent, and the reality is it's something that we do need to urgently address." The association had been campaigning for improved security measures to help shut down disorder quicker and more safely, he said. "We have been lobbying for that. We need better safety equipment. And that's something that we are going to continue to push. "The other factor is we need more staff. Our prisons are staffed based on a ratio that was developed many, many years ago ... [the] problem is prisons have become far more violent than they used to be. And so those calculations just aren't fit for purpose. "So in places like Spring Hill, for high security prisoners, you're talking about two staff managing up to 30 prisoners. That's just not safe. These are the most violent people in our country and we expect two staff to manage them without incident. That's just not realistic. "We need to re-look at it and we need more staff in the prisons and we need to give them tools to safely operate." Du Plessis said more prisoners were being packed into the same spaces, there were not enough beds to manage the situation and staffing levels were too low. "What we're doing then is we're condensing more and more of these people into tight spots. We have a serious problem with available beds. So across the country, we're jam packing everyone in as tightly as we can. "And what that means is it ... doesn't give us room to move people around or to manage the people better. And so unfortunately that does create tension, which leads to violence. We urgently need more beds across the country and staff to staff them." Staff also want access to other safety measures, du Plessis said, such as PepperBall ranged weapons which are promoted as non-lethal. "That's something that we can use at a distance that can quickly bring these things to a close. But we need the government to work with us to change legislation and put them in place." RNZ has contacted Corrections and the Minister of Corrections for comment. On Saturday, Custodial Services Commissioner Leigh Marsh praised Corrections staff who contained the Spring Hill riot without any injury to staff or prisoners. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Prison riot underway at at Waikato's Spring Hill Corrections Facility
Photo: Corrections / Chai Patel Department of Corrections staff are dealing with a riot at Waikato's Spring Hill Prison this afternoon. Fire and Emergency were called to the facility just before 3.20pm. Commissioner of Custodial Services Leigh Marsh told RNZ staff were dealing with 10 prisoners refusing to leave the exercise yard and damaging prison property. "The prison has been locked down as a precaution," she said. "The incident is contained to the yard, and there is no threat to the safety of the public or the wider prison." The prisoners had lit several small fires in the concrete exercise yard, Marsh said. Fire and Emergency shift manager Michael Anderson said five trucks, two water tankers, a ladder truck and a command unit were responding. Leigh Marsh said no staff injuries had been reported but St John were on site as a precaution. "Our Advanced Control & Restraint team with specialist capability has been dispatched to the site to assist if necessary, and we have comprehensive procedures for managing incidents where prisoners refuse to comply with staff orders." Police said they were advised around 3:50pm of a reported disorder and fire at the facility. Officers are in attendance and will assist as required. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Prison riot underway at Waikato's Spring Hill Corrections Facility
Photo: Corrections / Chai Patel Department of Corrections staff are dealing with a riot at Waikato's Spring Hill Prison this afternoon. Fire and Emergency were called to the facility just before 3.20pm. Commissioner of Custodial Services Leigh Marsh told RNZ staff were dealing with 10 prisoners refusing to leave the exercise yard and damaging prison property. "The prison has been locked down as a precaution," she said. "The incident is contained to the yard, and there is no threat to the safety of the public or the wider prison." The prisoners had lit several small fires in the concrete exercise yard, Marsh said. Fire and Emergency shift manager Michael Anderson said five trucks, two water tankers, a ladder truck and a command unit were responding. Leigh Marsh said no staff injuries had been reported but St John were on site as a precaution. "Our Advanced Control & Restraint team with specialist capability has been dispatched to the site to assist if necessary, and we have comprehensive procedures for managing incidents where prisoners refuse to comply with staff orders." Police said they were advised around 3:50pm of a reported disorder and fire at the facility. Officers are in attendance and will assist as required. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
a day ago
- RNZ News
Fire crews responding to blaze at Waikato's Spring Hill Prison
Photo: Corrections / Chai Patel Fire crews are responding to a blaze at Spring Hill Corrections Facility in Waikato this afternoon. Fire and Emergency was called to the facility just before 3.20pm. Shift manager Michael Anderson said five trucks, two water tankers, a ladder truck and a command unit were responding. The Department of Corrections has been approached for comment. More to come... Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
