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Rimutaka Prison in Upper Hutt (file photo)
The Rimutaka prison has seen an increase in the number of gang members, with reports of violence and stalemate tactics in its high-security units.
It follows an unannounced inspection by the Office of Inspection, an independent arm of the Department of Corrections, following problems with the violence in the prison in 2017.
In the report, Chief Inspector Janis Adair said that while there have been some improvements since then, the presence of gangs has increased in the last three years.
As of September 30, 2019, the prison held 1,038 inmates, more than half of whom identified as gang members.
Overall, there was an increase of 157 active gang members since a 2017 inspection.
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The report also revealed that in the six months to September 31, 2019, 69 assaults were recorded between prisoners in Rimutaka. Of these, 59 occurred in high security units.
During the same period, 26 attacks on prisoners against staff were recorded.
Adair also noted positive aspects of the prison, such as a consistent induction process, better inmates’ access to phone calls with their attorney, lower levels of contraband, and better meals.
Ongoing problems centered on the high-security unit, with prisoners in low-security units also reporting that they felt safe from intimidation, violence, and deadlock.
Rimutaka Prison has recently been the subject of a police investigation called Operation Porcia.
The operation is investigating suspicions of corruption after staff are alleged to have smuggled, including drugs, to prisoners, laundered money through their bank accounts and falsified official documents.
