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Inmates controlling a section of the Waikeria prison have asked Maori party MP Rawiri Waititi to offer help as the unrest at the facility comes to the end of its third day.
The group of 17 appears to be desperate for food and water, after negotiators refused both to starve them to death.
The deputy said he was more than willing to help in what he calls a judicial “revolution.”
“I’m very happy to have that conversation with them and very happy to defend them, making sure we not only fix them, the whānau inside, but also the whānau outside,” Waititi said. Stuff.
READ MORE:
* Waikeria Prison: Inmates protesting conditions, lack of supplies
* Waikeria prison rioters are ‘commendable’ – anti-prison group
* Waikeria Prison: First images show a devastated prison, the inmates’ rooftop camp
Dominico Zapata / Things
Prisoners can be seen on the roof of a unit at Waikeria prison after the riots that began Tuesday.
“If they are being treated inhumanely, we have to make sure their problems are addressed.”
Previously, Corrections staff made arrangements to allow the 17 inmates to speak with Kaumātua.
“An operation was planned that involved the support of our Advanced Control and Restriction staff to allow this to happen safely,” Corrections said in a statement.
“However, [it] did not resolve the situation. “
Waititi said she was not surprised by inmates’ claims of “inhumane” treatment at the Waikeria prison, including brown drinking water and unchanged bedding for six months.
However, he believed there was a deeper problem at play.
“The system doesn’t work for our people, it continually fails our people, and we must start looking for creative and innovative ways that work better for our people.
“Fifty percent of the male prison population are Maori and 64 percent of the female prison population are Maori; that is the highest percentage for any indigenous population. That is unacceptable. “
ROBERT KITCHEN / Things
Maori Party MP Rawiri Waititi believes that the prison and judicial system is outdated and continually fails his people.
He said both the prisons and the system are outdated.
“It is racist and the system needs a great transformation.
“We need Maori to Maori for Maori solutions. Solutions promoted by Kaupapa Māori to find the best result for our whānau “.
A former offender-turned-prison activist, Leslie Orchard, also agrees that the riot was based on years of injustice.
Described as New Zealand’s most prolific fraudster, Orchard has “served his time” in various prisons across the country.
Waikeria was one of the worst, he said.
Dominico Zapata / Things
Major structural damage at Waikeria Prison after inmates started a fire, some of which remain on the prison roof.
“This situation has been going on for years and it took something like this protest to bring it all to light,” Orchard said.
He said he first went to Waikeria prison in 1984 and was shocked by the treatment and the “decrepit state” of the cells.
“I know exactly what [the group of 17] They are going through asking for toilet paper. I was there, I did that, ”Orchard said.
“You wouldn’t put your dog in those cells, that’s how bad it is.”
The Department of Corrections confirmed Thursday that nothing at the Waikato prison had changed overnight.
Stuff He understands that members of the Comancher and Mongol gangs are among the group that is still upset.
Lawrence Smith / Stuff
Leslie Orchard was a career con artist with 1600 convictions and multiple jail sentences.
Numerous members of both gangs were arrested this year after police conducted multiple criminal operations in the Bay of Plenty.
The prison remains closed while the tense confrontation with 17 prisoners continues.
The possibility of a four-day deadlock worries former police negotiator Lance Burdett, who believes that “the longer you wait, the worse the outcome.”
“The longer this goes on, the longer the prison will be on a razor’s edge,” Burdett said.
He said current negotiators’ tactics of starving prisoners often don’t work, particularly in prisons. Instead, it only fuels their frustrations.
“Putting additional measures to what is already in prison is counterproductive.
Google maps
The area where the Waikeria prison riots are taking place can be seen in the lower right.
“Your loss of freedom is your punishment. He is not being treated inhumanely. “
He believes that an independent review is the best tactic for this situation, but admits that removing the prisoners may be Corrections’ only option.
“Bargaining is the best way to go … extraction is the worst option because people are likely to get hurt.
“But I have to say that Corrections personnel trained in these types of incidents are very good and highly trained to take these things to the minimum damage or risk.
“That is something the country can be satisfied with.”
A spokesperson for the Department of Corrections said that New Zealand Fire & Emergency, Police and St John remain in prison and are working with Corrections staff.
Chris Skelton / Stuff
Former police crisis negotiator, Lance Burdett, believes that in this case there should be an independent review.
“The situation remains unchanged,” the spokesman said. Stuff.
“If there are any significant changes, we will give an update, but currently it remains the same.”
The first images of the prison, taken from the air by Stuff, show the destruction left by inmates who rebelled and started lighting fires on Tuesday afternoon.
Row after row of roofs have collapsed, with the interiors of most of the facility’s buildings gutted and charred.
The riots began around 2 pm Tuesday when fires broke out in the “upper jail” facility in an exercise yard.
The prisoners had been setting fire to mattresses, Corrections said.
Waikeria’s prison population numbers around 750 inmates, representing approximately 7.2% of the country’s prison population. About 250 beds are located in the main Waikeria jail facilities.
The upper jail facility is one of the oldest parts of the prison, built in 1911, and was due to be replaced by a new facility scheduled to open in 2022.
Corrections counted Stuff Wednesday morning that while the condition of the building still needed to be assessed, it was unlikely that the prisoners could be held there again.
On Wednesday, about 200 Waikeria inmates were transferred to other prisons. Inmates receive mental health support.
