Prison to operate at reduced capacity
Waikeria Prison will operate at a reduced capacity for almost two years after a riot at the facility made part of it uninhabitable.
The six-day riot, which began on December 29, resulted in serious damage to the structural integrity of the top jail facility, a Department of Corrections spokesperson said.
Last week, the site was part of a crime scene but it had now been handed back to the Department of Corrections. However, the unit had been deemed unsafe for anyone to enter, including Corrections or emergency services staff.
‘‘Therefore we have been unable to assess the damage or what might be salvageable from the site.’’
The inmates were protesting over dilapidated conditions and Corrections’ strategy for Ma¯ori.
Corrections said prisoners who were accommodated in the facility had been moved to other prisons, though they would not give a breakdown on which prisons inmates had been transferred to. Or how many had gone to each.
The rest of the prison, which is for low to medium security prisoners, is operating as normal, although there has been damage to the prisoner payphone system.
Prison visits for wha¯nau and
friends resumed at the weekend.
Construction on a new 500-bed facility, with an extra 100-bed mental health unit, is under way at Waikeria and is due for completion in 2022.
The plan for the new building acknowledged that the top jail facility, which opened in 1911, was no longer able to meet the needs of prisoners or staff.
Waikeria Prison will operate with about 500 prisoners in the low/medium security section of the prison and this reduced capacity will remain until the new section is completed.
There have been other consequences for the prisoners that were displaced. ‘‘This includes loss of belongings, lack of access to rehabilitation and reintegration programmes and being forced to move away from family, friends and legal networks.’’
There were audio-visual suites at all prisons to help maintain those connections, the spokesperson said.