The Corrections Association is fully supporting Ron Marks and the New Zealand First Party’s call to properly equip corrections officers for the job they do, after the most recent riot at Rimutaka Prison.

“The Police have Handcuffs, Batons, Pepper Spray and Stab Proof Vests to keep them safe from the people they may come into contact with. Corrections Officers have none of this, they only have a cotton uniform, yet every day on every shift corrections officers are expected to walk amongst the very people that the Police may come across” said Beven Hanlon, President of the Corrections Association.

The Corrections Association of New Zealand is calling for an immediate start to the staff protection work parties that were promised back in 2005.

“We know it is not just a matter of arming all the staff and expecting everything to be sweet. We need to address the entire management of prisoners and to train staff in de-escalation techniques so that these tools don’t need to be used in the first place”.

“You could see the commitment that Corrections Officers have to public safety and their job, by the fact that the prison riot teams (used on the weekend at Rimutaka prison) didn’t even have stab proof vests. Yet they were going into a riot, knowing that they could be harmed. Butchers are required to wear mesh gloves to prevent injuries to hands, Forest Workers are required to wear legging chaps when using a chain saw to protect legs”, said Beven Hanlon.

“It raises the question, why do prison staff not have the safety equipment that they need to keep themselves safe”?

Prisons around the world use a variety of different tools to keep both their staff and other prisoners safe. In most countries the first response is one where the staff are not involved, this would include the use of pepper spray, CS gas or dogs. It is not until these options are used that staff have to physically get involved with either batons or tasers.

“New Zealand’s prisons are becoming more and more violent, there have been stabbings, riots, serious beatings and murders in the recent past within our prisons. Just earlier this year an officer was stabbed in the back whilst saving a prisoner that had been set upon by other prisoners at Rimutaka prison. If we are expected to continue to do this job we must have the tools to do it safely” said Beven Hanlon.

This media release was authorised by the Corrections Association of New Zealand.

CONTACT: Beven Hanlon 0274 380 442