Prisoner cuffed 21 hours daily
An inmate at Otago Corrections facility was handcuffed for 21 hours a day in an experience labelled ‘‘torturous’’ by inspectors.
The Office of the Ombudsman’s chief inspector Jacki Jones visited the prison with three other inspectors and May with a justreleased report identifying a raft of issues.
The Ombudsmen has responsibility under the Crimes of Torture Act to examine and monitor conditions and treatment of detainees in New Zealand prisons.
The inspectors found one prisoner had been detained with a waist restraint for an average of 21 hours a day for 10 weeks to manage his self-harming.
‘‘The prolonged use of handcuffs to manage an individual’s self-harming behaviour could be considered disproportionate and unreasonable,’’ Chief Ombudsman Judge Peter Boshier wrote.
The man, who was in the At Risk Unit, was un-cuffed two hours a day and every four hours at night to stretch his muscles, take a shower or eat.
‘‘The effect of being in prolonged restraints becomes a torturous experience,’’ Boshier said.
‘‘This forced, unnatural position places huge strain on the person both physically and mentally.
‘‘The length of time in restraints will have caused significant physical and mental distress.’’
Boshier said the prolonged use of handcuffs amounted to ‘‘cruel and degrading treatment or punishment’’.
Other issues included the fact Otago Corrections Facility staff could watch prisoners using the bathroom.
The Ombudsman has recommended cameras should not cover toilet areas, but the Department of Corrections insists the installation of privacy screens around toilet areas is inappropriate.
Boshier said insistence on camera surveillance while prisoners were abluting ‘‘can and should be avoided’’.
‘‘I would have thought there were ways in which reasonable surveillance could be maintained yet at the same time affording some human dignity.’’
While there was no evidence prisoners were subject to torture, the Ombudsman considered the staffs’ ability to observe prisoners ‘‘undertaking their ablutions and in various stages of undress’’ as degrading treatment or punishment under the Convention Against Torture.
Corrections’ view was the surveillance was necessary for highrisk prisoners because they could commit self-harm, and cameras were only in these ‘‘at-risk’’ cells.
"The length of time in restraints will have caused significant physical and mental distress."