The New Zealand Herald

Use of confinemen­t ‘very disturbing’

Damning UN-funded report says high use of isolation in New Zealand breaches internatio­nal standards

- Kirsty Johnston

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.

 ??  ?? Ashley Peacock
Ashley Peacock

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