Riot at prison sparks ‘code red’

A group of rioting inmates smashed out of their cells and caused a ‘‘code red’’ lockdown at one of the country’s largest jails.

The Department of Corrections has praised the ‘‘brave’’ staff who helped defuse the incident, several hours after it began, at Christchurch Men’s Prison on Thursday.

The Press understands five inmates in Rawhiti Unit smashed out of their cells through windows and accessed a communal area about 4pm.

Staff evacuated the unit and a prison-wide lockdown, known as a ‘‘code red’’, was called.

The inmates broke windows and lights and set off sprinklers, which sprayed water everywhere, in Rawhiti Unit.

Members of the Advanced Control and Restraint Team were called in to help resolve the situation. The team, which is made up of specially trained guards, can only be deployed with the regional commissioner’s approval.

All inmates in the Rawhiti Unit have been moved to other parts of the prison while damage caused during the incident is repaired.

A source said that was likely to cost tens of thousands of dollars. Police are investigating. Acting prison director Martin Potter said the ‘‘disorder’’ began after one of the offending inmates, who’d tried to assault a staff member the previous day, was told he was being moved to a different unit.

It was resolved without injury to staff or other prisoners. There was no threat to public safety.

‘‘Staff responded bravely and professionally to resolve the incident, and I am very proud of them,’’ Potter said.

A full operational review would be carried out to ‘‘determine whether any changes to policy or practice would prevent a similar event from occurring in the future’’.