The chief ombudsman yesterday released a report which said Corrections needed to urgently fix a number of workplace culture and leadership issues (file picture). Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly
Prison guards and justice advocates are calling for Corrections to be held to account over its treatment of prisoners, including inmates being locked in cells for 23 hours a day.
It follows a scathing report from the chief ombudsman, after the department repeatedly failed to make the improvements called for by multiple watchdogs. Peter Boshier said prisoners were not being treated fairly, safely or humanely, and he was "utterly frustrated" at the lack of change.
In 32 inspections over the last eight years he found prisoners were locked inside for long stretches in run-down facilities, and went without access to basic rights like meals, medication and visits.
Numerous recommendations had led nowhere.
Cosmo Jeffrey from the Canterbury Howard League for Penal Reform said the department did not seem to take the criticisms seriously.
"Recently in Rimutaka, for example, people are being locked up for over 24 hours without getting out, and then Corrections comes back and says, 'Oh, yes, but the next day they'll get out within 22 hours, and sometimes it does go over but that's just the way of it.'
"It's not the way to run a jail."
Prisoners often shared a cell, and being locked up for such long hours led to frustration and violence, Jeffrey said. He was not confident the department would make changes unless it was forced to.
The union for prison staff agreed. Corrections Association president Floyd du Plessis said the latest report was one of many that had raised the same problems and been disregarded.
"We need the ability to be able to force action from the report and have actual change happen," he said.
"We're hopeful that something will happen, but... the report has no ability to direct change, it's just suggesting things that need to improve."
Du Plessis said front-line staff wanted to give prisoners their basic rights and more, but prisons were simply too short-staffed.
"Prison staff would welcome a lot more resource and a lot more access to programmes, rehabilitation and vocational training, because that's what we need. What we're saying is we need resources to support and accommodate that."
Corrections said it had made changes when specific problems had been raised. For example, inmates were given more frequent meals and visits if staffing allowed.
Chief executive Jeremy Lightfoot said the department "absolutely" prioritised prisoners' rights.
"Some of those people present very challenging behaviours, and so we are again weighing the need for us to make sure we can do our job in a safe environment for everyone.
"Some good progress made, more work to be done, but we're absolutely focused on making sure we get that right."
However, the chief ombudsman said Corrections needed a reality check, and he had had enough of the department's defensiveness and attempts to "explain away" problems.
"I feel that the tenor of the Corrections response to my report is we accept everything you've said and moreover we accept your recommendations and you know we're doing all of this," Boshier said. "Well the answer is, they're not."
The latest recommendations included a suite of changes, from tightening up legislation to overhauling the organisation's culture. The report also called on the Public Service Commission to look into options for independent oversight of the department.
Corrections said it would publicly report on its progress in six months' time.