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| Inmates 'Run Riot' at NZ Prison |
| By The Dominion Post |
| Published: 10/31/2005 |
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A New Zealand prison officers union says inmates are running riot at the Upper Hutt prison, with management choosing to "bury its head in the sand" over the situation. The assaults have occurred during a nationwide prison crisis, with inmate numbers at their highest ever. The Corrections Department which briefly used vans to house prisoners and a rugby club to shower and exercise them has also had to cope with several escapes in recent days. That has led to meetings between between Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor and Corrections management. A spokeswoman said Mr O'Connor would report to the Cabinet. A Rimutaka officer said the situation inside the jail was "dynamite" after another officer was beaten yesterday. It is believed to be the ninth attack on staff at the prison this month, the most at any New Zealand jail. The assault, in the same high-security unit in which an officer was attacked by four inmates on Wednesday said by experienced staff to be one of the worst attacks on officers seen at the prison is understood to have occurred after a prisoner was denied access to a cell. That officer was repeatedly kicked and left with cuts and abrasions to the face and his eyes swollen shut. Some sources believed that the injured officer was taken to hospital for treatment before being discharged, though Corrections' public prison service general manager, Dave East, said he was treated at the jail. An officer said staff frustration was at boiling point. "There's hardly a day goes by when some officer isn't assaulted, or something has happened, a violent episode." However, Mr East said the recent assaults while concerning were "minor incidents". "Given the nature of people we deal with in prisons, minor incidents are inevitable." That was slammed by Corrections Association of New Zealand president Beven Hanlon. The head of the union representing most prison officers said Mr East needed to "pull his head out of the sand". "On his $100,000 plus salary, that's easy to say. For $35,000 a year, we don't come to work to be punched in the head." Staff at the prison had tried to meet management to solve the crisis, but had been refused an audience. |
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