02 December 2021 C137465

Tony Wall
Stuff
tony.wall@stuff.co.nz

Tēnā koe Tony

Thank you for your email of 16 June 2021, requesting information about the
Assessment Unit/Unit 10 at Auckland Prison. Your request has been considered
under the Official Information Act 1982 (OIA). I would like to sincerely apologise for
the delay in responding to your request.

On 21 June 2021, we requested you clarify your request as the Ombudsman

conducted their visit to Auckland Prison in January and early February 2020. Since
this time, Unit 10 has been repurposed. You confirmed on 21 June 2021 that you
wished to request information about the Assessment Unit located at Auckland
Prison.

The Ombudsman’s inspections are welcomed. Independent oversight helps to

ensure that people in prison are treated in a way that reflects their needs and
supports them to make changes to their lives and stop committing crime.

Over 75 per cent of the prison population have convictions for violence in their
offending histories, and more than 90 per cent have had a lifetime diagnosis of a
mental health or substance abuse disorder. This is particularly evident at Auckland
Prison, which is New Zealand’s only specialist maximum-security prison facility,
where staff are trained to work with some of this country’s most complex and volatile
people in a challenging environment.

In 2013 Corrections procured a new facility with Next Step Partners (NSP) to replace
old East Division of Auckland Prison which had reached the end of its design and
operational life. A 25-year contract with NSP was signed in September 2015 to
finance, design, build and maintain the facility. The build of the new facility was
completed and services commenced in July 2018, with the site becoming operational
from October 2019 More information about the new facility at Auckland Prison is
available here: https://www.corrections.govt.nz/news/2018/auckland_prison_opening

The Assessment Unit, or Aranga Hou, is one of a small number of maximum security
units at Auckland Prison. The Aranga Hou is generally utilised for Maximum Security
prisoners new to Auckland Prison, however their placement is determined by a
recommendation from a Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) prior to arrival.  
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During the person’s assessment in Aranga Hou, the recommendations of the MDT
will determine what the staff are looking to observe and report on accordingly prior to
recommendation of any further placement on site. This could generally be a short
behavioural assessment or it could specifically be Psychological or Mental Health
Assessments prior to a further placement on site being recommended. It depends
upon the individual and the identified risks they present.

Aranga Hou is also utilised to house prisoners who have shown a significant
increase in risk and are placed on Directed Segregation. Unit 10 is not a default unit
to place prisoners subject to a segregation direction however it is generally utilised
for high risk prisoners who have assaulted staff or serious assaults on other
prisoners. Their placement in Aranga Hou is based on the assessed risk. If the risk
can be managed outside of Aranga Hou then it is. The infrastructure and physical
design of Aranga Hou allows for safer containment than a standard Maximum
security environment.

In accordance with the Corrections Act 2004, maximum security prisoners are
provided opportunities for exercise, access to visitors, mail, telephone calls and other
minimum entitlements set out in the Act. They also have regular and ongoing contact
with custodial and health staff, as well as mental health professionals as required.

During unlock periods, people in prison normally interact with unit staff, case
managers, psychologists, along with nurses and mental health clinicians. They also
have access to prisoner kiosks and telephone facilities. Further, people will generally
be able to have contact with other prisoners of similar security classification and
categories. This is a controlled practice and prisoners are closely monitored. Units
within prison sites may operate under slightly different unlock regimes for operational
reasons.

You requested the following information:

This is a request under the Official Information Act for information about the
Assessment Unit at Auckland Prison. 
Please provide the following:
1. The number of cells (out of 30 total) occupied as of today's date

Aranga Hou currently consists of 16 cells, with 13 occupied, as at 13 July 2021.

2. The length of time each prisoner (as of today's date) has been held in
that unit

As at 13 July 2021, please see below for the date that each person was housed in
Aranga Hou.

 Person one – 2 March 2021 

 Person two – 1 July 2021 
 Person three – 4 July 2021 
 Person four – 9 July 2021 
 Person five – 5 April 2021 
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 Person six – 9 July 2021 

 Person seven – 25 May 2021 
 Person eight – 12 May 2021 
 Person nine – 4 July 2021 
 Person ten – 26 June 2020 
 Person eleven – 9 November 2019 
 Person twelve – 30 March 2021 
 Person thirteen – 12 May 2021 

3. The number of prisoners in the unit on 'directed segregation' for their

own safety
4. The number of prisoners in the unit on directed segregation for the
safety of others
5. the number of prisoners in the unit on voluntary segregation
6. the number of prisoners in the unit for health, including mental health,
reasons

As at 13 July 2021:

 Ten people were segregated under section 58(1)(a) of the Corrections Act
2004 (the Act), the security or good order of the prison would otherwise be
endangered or prejudiced, or (b) the safety of another prisoner or person
would otherwise be endangered of the Corrections Act 2004.
 Three people were segregated under section 59(1)(b) of the Act, the prison
director is satisfied that the safety of the prisoner has been put at risk by
another person, or there is no reasonable way to ensure the safety of the
prisoner otherwise than by giving that direction.
 One of the 13 people was also identified as being voluntarily segregated
under section 59(1)(a) of the Corrections Act 2004, the prisoner requests that
his or her opportunity to associate be restricted or denied.
 No person was segregated under section 60 of the Corrections Act 2004,
segregation for the purpose of medical oversight

7. The number of cells in the unit made non-operational because of

damage inflicted by inmates since the opening of the unit

Whether damage caused to a cell has made it “non-operational” is not identifiable

from our records. To ascertain whether the damage would have removed a cell from
operation would require the initiation of a project to analyse our records. Therefore,
your request is declined under section 18(g) of the OIA as the information is not held
by Corrections, nor do we believe it is held by another department. However, I can
advise that no cells have been made permanently “non-operational” as a result of
damage caused by prisoners.

8. The average time to repair these cells

The average time taken to repair damage in damaged cells in Aranga Hou from
October 2018 to 26 July 2021 is four days, 20 minutes. You will appreciate that the
times will vary significantly depending on the level of damage caused.
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9. The estimated cost of the repairs

The total cost to Corrections to repair damage in this unit, from October 2018 to 26
July 2021, caused by prisoners to their cells is $100,454.06 with an average of
$383.41 per incident. You will appreciate that the costs will vary significantly
depending on the level of damage caused.

10. In a report by the Ombudsman last year, it was noted that some
prisoners were being subjected to cell searches up to three times a
day. Is this still continuing and why?

No person located in Aranga Hou has their cell searched multiple times on any given
day.

11. The Ombudsman noted that phone calls could only be made during
day-time hours, not evenings and weekends. Has this been remedied?

This is recommendation 1h, which Corrections accepted at the time and commented
as follows:

“While this is an area of ongoing development at Auckland Prison, staff are

willing to facilitate weekend calls as an alternative option for prisoners. This
will be considered at prisoners’ request and will be facilitated within current
constraints operating at site at the time of the request. I wish to note due to
Auckland Prison’s unique phone system, specialist phones have been
ordered to ensure compatibility with the system. An order for the phones was
placed in March 2020, and contractors have completed appropriate
measurements for the building of the ‘phone trollies’ to transport the phones
upon their arrival into A uckland Prison. A timeframe for delivery of the
phones from the USA cannot be ascertained due to COVID-19”

These phones have since been received and are now operational.

12. The report noted prisoners were locked for long periods in their cells
and had no access to employment and limited access to
education. Has this changed?

The prisoners accommodated in Aranga Hou have access to a tutor who carries out
educational assessments and enrolments. The tutor also schedules sessions to
assist people with their studies. Currently there is no access to employment, but this
is being considered.

The Ombudsman made the following recommendations:

Time prisoners spend in the Assessment Unit should be as short as possible,

and subject to ongoing assessment and review. Paths for progression out of
the Assessment Unit should be clear, specific and achievable.
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13. What measures have been taken to achieve this, and how have
outcomes changed?

This is recommendation 1g, which Corrections accepted at the time and commented
as follows:

“Since your inspection, Auckland Prison has designed a progression plan to

aid prisoner unit placement and progression. While this plan is still in its early
stages of implementation, the daily Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) meetings
include discussions on new prisoner arrivals into the Assessment Unit to
ascertain when progression can take place for individuals. In addition to the
MDT daily meetings, an amended ‘high risk prisoner’ meeting has been
implemented at Auckland Prison to further discuss those on directed
segregation (including those in Unit 10) and to discuss each prisoner’s
suitability of any continued segregation. This meeting is chaired by the Deputy
Prison Director of Auckland Prison and held twice a week. Both the Health
Centre Manager and the Clinical Manager of the Intervention and Support
Practice team attend these meetings.

This amended meeting allows for a more structured agenda, preparation and
quick identification of those prisoners on a segregation direction (whether in
the assessment unit or not). It also allows for identification of agreed
approaches, interventions and behavioural observations with which to make a
more informed recommendation of the prisoners next progressive/regressive
step.”

All prisoners coming in as a ‘new’ maximum security are discussed by a Multi-

Disciplinary Team (MDT) prior to arrival with a recommendation for the appropriate
Unit. This MDT also plans their initial pathway with input from Education,
Programmes, Intelligence, Psychologists, Case Managers, Custodial, Intervention
Support Team (Mental Health) and Health. As you can see from the response to
your second request, 11 of the 13 people in the Assessment Unit have been there
for less than five months.

14. How many staff vacancies have there been in unit 10 over the past
year?

While staff are usually assigned to a particular unit, if there is a vacancy in a unit this
will be covered by staff from other units to ensure that safe operating standards are
met.

15. How many vacancies are there currently?

As at 26 July 2021, there are no vacancies at Auckland Prison.

Please note that this response may be published on Corrections’ website. Typically,
responses are published quarterly, or as otherwise determined. Your personal
information including name and contact details will be removed for publication.
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I trust the information provided is of assistance. Should you have any concerns with
this response, I would encourage you to raise them with Corrections. Alternatively,
you are advised of your right to also raise any concerns with the Office of the
Ombudsman. Contact details are: Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152,
Wellington 6143.

Ngā mihi nui

Rachel Leota
National Commissioner