Use of confinement ‘very disturbing’
Damning UN-funded report says high use of isolation in New Zealand breaches international standards
Ascathing report has slammed New Zealand for its overuse of solitary confinement — found to be four times higher than in English prisons and in breach of international standards.
Children, disabled people and the mentally unwell were also isolated at high rates, and in conditions considered “stark” and “impoverished”, according to Dr Sharon Shalev, an international human rights expert.
Shalev was funded by the United Nations to visit New Zealand last year at the request of the Human Rights Commission, due to ongoing concerns about the use of solitary confinement here, including the case of Ashley Peacock, who was isolated in a psychiatric ward for more than five years.
Her report highlights a raft of issues, the most serious being the continued use of seclusion on mentally unwell prisoners; and the solitary confinement of children — both against international standards.
It also raises concerns about two other long-term patients, both in isolation for six years, a situation already repeatedly covered by the Ombudsman’s torture inspectors in their annual torture reports.
Shalev visited 17 sites including prisons, hospitals, children’s homes and police cells.
Corrections data showed there were 16,370 recorded instances of segregation in New Zealand in the year to November 2016, four times that of England and Wales. Maori and women were both overrepresented.
Site visits found barren conditions, with some segregation units lacking access to water and fresh air.
It also noted multiple issues in police cells, including insufficient blankets and pillows, no clear minimum entitlements for showers, exercise or phone calls, and a lack of privacy.
During a visit to a government-run care and protection residence, Shalev was surprised to find children being held in “secure care” units which looked identical to a prison segregation cell, where up to 20 children had been isolated in just six months.
“The use of confinement on children was very, very disturbing,” she said.
“International human rights law and principles of good practice call for a complete prohibition on the use of solitary confinement with children,” she said.
Shalev also highlighted the small but persistent number of “chronic” cases where solitary confinement and restraint were used for a prolonged time — such as Ashley’s case.
It was concerning to see very little thinking about new solutions for those people, she said.
“There was almost an apathy. There was an assumption that this is how things are done and this is how they will continue to be.”
Seclusion is considered potentially harmful — particularly to vulnerable people — due to its “toxic” combination of social isolation; a monotonous physical environment and institutional control. As such, it is monitored under strict human rights laws.
Chief Human Rights Commissioner David Rutherford said while the report made for sobering reading, the focus should now be on how the recommendations can be used to reduce seclusion and restraint in New Zealand.
“Many of these concerns have been raised by other monitoring agencies in the past . . . It is time for urgent action to be taken.”
Children’s Commissioner Andrew Becroft said he hoped the report would give the Government the impetus it needed to change the law on remanding children into police cells.
“The whole report is a sobering wake up call. We are out of line.”
Oranga Tamariki (formerly Child, Youth and Family) said it was working to address the issues identified.
“Simple things, like refreshing the spaces and making sure the infrastructure is sound — such as the call bell system — is under way,” it said.
Corrections’ Chief Custodial Officer Neil Beales said the department broadly agreed with the report, although parts were “one-dimensional”.
He said some improvement initiatives were already under way.