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62% of Mt Eden prisoners in voluntary segregation, watchdog says many feel unsafe

Mt Eden Corrections Facility. Photo: RNZ / Tim Watkin Staffing shortages, prisoners feeling unsafe and limited rehabilitation activities were among a raft of issues found by an inspection report into the country's main remand prison for men - Auckland's Mt Eden Corrections Facility. The report was released on Wednesday by the Office of the Inspectorate, which is part of Corrections but holds independent oversight of the corrections system. The announced inspections were conducted throughout October 2024. Over a six-month review period, 127 prisoners and 142 staff members, union members and service providers were interviewed one-on-one. At the time of the inspection, the facility had 1100 prisoners, of whom 95 percent were on remand. It received an average of 600 new prisoners each month. The average length of time people spent on remand nationwide was 89 days - according to Corrections' estimates from 2023/2024. The report found the prison had about 506 custodial staff at the time, and was short of about 76 custodial staff. Many staff had less than two years' experience working in a New Zealand prison. Chief Inspector Janis Adair said, partly due to this, "most prisoners were subject to restrictive regimes, spending around 22 hours a day locked in their cells ". She said while most prisoners and staff reported feeling safe, many did not feel safe in shared mainstream units. The report found 62 percent of prisoners at the facility were in voluntary segregation - reflecting that many did not feel safe in shared units. A significant number of prisoners said they had to remain vigilant when out of their cells, and some said they seldom left their cells due to safety concerns, the report said. "Despite the site's focus on reducing violence and aggression, there were some issues with bullying and prisoner-on-prisoner assaults," the report said. The inspectorate also found evidence that cell intercom calls sometimes were not answered by staff, which made prisoners feel their safety was at risk in the event of an emergency. The limited rehabilitation opportunities was another area noted in the report. "There were limited educational, cultural (such as tikanga courses or kapa haka) or constructive activities available. Prisoners told us they were bored, stressed and frustrated," Adair said. Non-custodial staff, such as case managers, education tutors and mental health staff, found it challenging to access prisoners, possibly also due to the shortage of custodial staff, the report said. Meanwhile, release planning for prisoners was also found to be lacking. "We heard it was not uncommon for prisoners to be released immediately after sentencing due to having already served their time on remand, "This meant some prisoners had nowhere to go on release as case managers had not been able to arrange any accommodation for them before sentencing. "If prisoners had no accommodation, we heard they were sent to the Community Corrections site across the road from MECF to ask for assistance there," the report said. The inspectorate said it understood that the Ministry of Social Development was not currently offering emergency accommodation to single men, as families were being prioritised. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.