Prison cell sharing to continue

The Human Rights Commission has criticised proposed changes to corrections law, including the continuing use of police cells and double-bunking.

Human Rights Commission lawyer Anneliese Boston said the commission never wanted to see the use of dormitory-type arrangements, as had recently been discussed by Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis.

More than a third of the prison population was double-bunked, and with a rising prison population there has been talk of contingency plans if the prison network is pushed beyond capacity.

Following the announcement of the 600-bed rebuild at Waikeria Prison – which would see half of all cells shared – Davis said the worstcase scenario was prisoners sleeping on mattresses on the floor.

‘‘We very much never want to see those dormitory-type cells in New Zealand,’’ Boston said during a select committee hearing on proposed law changes.

The Corrections Amendment Bill removed the explicit preference for single-cell accommodation, and said a prisoner could be put in a shared cell if the prison manager believed it was suitable.

Corrections’ analysis of proposed law changes said the current legal ambiguity around sharing cells could open the Government up to a potential legal case.

‘‘In the worst-case scenario, a challenge to current practice could result in a court decision requiring the department to reduce its use of cell sharing, which would increase the pressure on available accommodation and impose substantial costs on the Crown,’’ according to an impact assessment report of the law changes.

Last month, the prison population was 10,600. The network had been designed to house 9254 people.

In some instances, especially when there had been an emergency or natural disaster, there may be a need to double-bunk, or share a cell, Boston said.

‘‘But our concern is removing this preference for single-cell means it’s not a temporary measure.’’

It was important to have the preference for single-cell accommodation written into the country’s primary legislation, to discourage double-bunking, especially in cells that were not designed to house more than one person, she said.

Double-bunking was technically a breach of the United Nations Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, known as the Mandela Rules, which state that each person should occupy a night cell or room of their own.

Penal reform group the Howard League said prisoners had told them sharing a cell had led to nightmares and an inability to process emotions. Some had also raised hygiene and smell issues.

‘‘Double-bunking in Spring Hill is like a hell on earth,’’ one prisoner said.

Meanwhile, the Ombudsman has expressed concern that the size of cells in prisons is not compliant with international standards.

The Human Rights Commission also raised issues with the continued use of police cells as a corrections facility.

‘‘Double-bunking in Spring Hill is like a hell on earth.’’

An inmate