‘PRISON WITHIN A PRISON’
Why notorious gang boss will stay inside a special
Jim Thacker will soon have his first face-to-face contact with family in two years,
Agang leader has lost a legal battle to be shifted from a controversial “prison within a prison” where he has been in solitary confinement for years.
Jim David Thacker was deported from Australia in 2018 and established the first New Zealand chapter of the Mongols, an international outlaw motorcycle club with roots in the United States.
The arrival of the Mongols in the Bay of Plenty, in particular, sparked a turf war with rival gangs including a shooting where 96 rounds were fired into a house.
But Thacker had never been in prison until June 2020, when he was arrested as the main target in Operation Silk, a covert police investigation into the gang’s drug and violence offending.
Better known as JD, Thacker was convicted late last year of 40 charges including unlawful possession of firearms, participating in an organised criminal group, possession of methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA for supply and money-laundering. The 33-year-old is due for sentencing in the High Court next month.
However, Thacker recently took a civil case against the Department of Corrections for placing him in “directed segregation” — essentially solitary confinement — for nearly all of his time in custody since 2020. He also hasn’t had face-to-face contact with his family for two years.
He is in the Prisoners of Extreme Risk Unit (Peru) at Auckland Prison in Paremoremo, New Zealand’s only maximum security facility.
The Peru has been described as a “prison within a prison” and is a completely separate custodial unit with different staff and management.
As of June, 13 inmates were in the unit, according to information released by under the Official Information Act.
Among a bundle of documents released by the department under the Act was a guideline for dealing with prisoners with autism who were housed in Peru. It is understood at least one inmate since its inception met that criteria.
Corrections would not confirm their identities but the Weekend Herald understands the Christchurch terrorist Brenton Tarrant, who is serving a life sentence without parole for murdering 51 people at two mosques, and Xavier Valent — serving a life sentence as one of New Zealand’s biggest drug dealers — are among them.
“For the most part, this is due to the ongoing risk of serious violence that [the inmates] present; however, could also be due to their capability to influence others to engage in serious violence or threats to others, including staff,” National Commissioner Leigh Marsh said in response to an Official Information Act request.
“While these risks may include violent extremism, this is not always the case. For example, additional measures may be required to safely manage individuals who are connected to sophisticated organised criminal networks, with the capability to seriously threaten the safety and security of a prison.”
Thacker’s legal team of Janet Mason and Niall Thrupp this year asked the High Court to formally review the decision of prison management to place their client in “directed segregation”.
This amounted to “improper punishment”, alleged Thacker, who also sought a judicial review of decisions to refuse him contact with his family.
Essentially, his case was he was never given an opportunity to show good behaviour.
Instead, Thacker alleged he was targeted by prison authorities from the outset simply because of his status as the president of the Mongols, and apparent influence over other inmates, rather than his actual conduct or risk to safety in the prison.
He also claimed Corrections was biased against him because of his gang membership and he was in directed segregation as a matter of routine.
This was to improperly punish him, Thacker alleged, as was the decision to deny him visits with his family or AVL calls.
Corrections also failed to take into account the effect of his deteriorating mental health from being held continuously in directed segregation, Thacker alleged.
But in a judgment released this month, Justice David Gendall said Thacker’s allegation directed segregation was used against him as punishment was “in my view quite unsupported by any evidence before me”.
The High Court judge was also satisfied Corrections took into account Thacker’s mental health and wellbeing, as well as the Crown’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s obligations to prisoners under international agreements, as well as the Bill of Rights.
Justice Gendall also dismissed Thacker’s allegation that his position as the president of the Mongols led to his time in directed segregation, as opposed to his conduct or safety risk.
While Thacker has attempted to minimise what appears to be the “violent and volatile nature of his behaviour” which prompted the applications to place him in directed segregation, Justice Gendall said the evidence suggested he was a significant risk to the security of the prison.
Thacker was first placed under directed segregation at Waikeria Prison in September 2020 when he refused several times to stop contact sparring. He claimed it was noncontact sparring with his cousin as a form of exercise.
But prison management viewed his defiance against the backdrop of rising tensions and non-compliant behaviour in Waikeria caused by the growing numbers of Mongols.
“His behaviour was perceived by the prison authorities as carrying significant weight here,” Justice Gendall said.
The day after the directed segregation of two weeks ended, Thacker intentionally blocked the security cameras in the prison yard and refused to leave despite instructions to do so.
This was characterised by Corrections as “an attempt to create
disorder”, though Thacker said his behaviour was a protest against prison conditions.
He allegedly made serious threats against Corrections staff — including to kill one particular officer — and was placed in directed segregation again.
Two days later, Thacker was transferred to Auckland Prison where his behaviour allegedly deteriorated.
“It is said his behaviour was unpredictable with quick and frequent escalations to volatility, with regular shouting at Corrections staff, and a resistance to prison rules and the regular boundaries that had been set,” Justice Gendall said.
Despite being kept apart from
other inmates, Corrections was also concerned by Thacker’s ongoing “sphere of influence” inside the prison and regular incidents of disruption over the next two years.
He damaged cell doors, barricaded himself in the yard for four hours — with three other inmates following suit — setting fire to his cell, throwing liquid over Corrections officers, and misusing the phone to speak with an unauthorised person.
“It cannot be the case, nor is it alleged in my view, that two prison directors, one deputy director, three senior advisers, the Visiting Justice and every Corrections officer involved in the decisions in question,
fabricated or exaggerated the nature of Mr Thacker’s behaviour and the consequent risk he posed,” Justice Gendall said.
“The decisions to place and keep Mr Thacker in directed segregation reference various specific instances where Mr Thacker largely demonstrated violent and disruptive behaviour and illustrated the tangible influence he had over other prisoners. “Arguably, Mr Thacker’s influence over the conduct of other prisoners was not merely potential. It was real.”
The judicial review application was dismissed. Thacker has now been in directed segregation for nearly three years.
His mother Tamaku Thacker will visit her son tomorrow for the first time in two years, although is not allowed to touch him. She was disappointed by the High Court ruling and says the ongoing isolation for Thacker was having a “massive” impact on his mental health.
“You’ve got no idea how much I want to see him . . . but I just want to get him out of that unit,” Tamaku Thacker said. “It’s coming up to three years now, it’s doing his head in. We just want to get a fair go.”
His lawyer, Janet Mason, confirmed that she would take Thacker’s case to the Court of Appeal.
“All prisoners are very vulnerable in the custody of Corrections, and rely on the oversight of the civil courts to ensure that their rights under the law are upheld, in particular their rights under the Nelson Mandela rules and the Treaty of Waitangi,” Mason said.
“Mr Thacker has always been clear in his instructions that this case is not solely about him but about his brothers within the Corrections system who are also susceptible to inhumane treatment.”
Prison facilities are also subject to the oversight of the Office of the Inspectorate, which this week formally visited the Peru for the first time since it was established in 2019.
The prison watchdog spent four days at the unit and is expected to publish a report on conditions at Peru, but has already squarely addressed the controversial issue of directed segregation in a recent audit.
While solitary confinement — defined under the so-called Mandela Rules as more than 22 hours a day without meaningful human interaction — is a legitimate tool of prison management, Chief Inspector Janis Adair found prison authorities must do more to mitigate the profound extent of isolation experienced by these prisoners.
Around 29 per cent of the prison population — or 5655 inmates — had spent time in jail separated from social interactions in a 12-month period leading up to September 2021.
Most spent less than 15 days in segregation, although some rare cases — such as Thacker — had spent more than a year alone.
Such isolation can lead to damaging psychological and physical effects such as lethargy, impaired concentration, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, anger and irritability, perceptual distortion, and paranoia.
Adair made 59 recommendations for Corrections to improve on, including poor record-keeping and data collection, inadequate levels of clinical involvement in segregation decisions, and to introduce a robust assurance framework for at-risk prisoners.
“The consequences of these factors ultimately lead to my lack of confidence in the current system,” Adair said.
“This is not a challenge unique to New Zealand and segregation is, and ought properly to be, a concern for jurisdictions across the world.”
It’s coming up to three years now, it’s doing his head in. We just want to get a fair go.
Tamaku Thacker