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Assaults on prison staff are referred to the police when appropriate, the Department of Corrections says. (File photo)
All New Zealand prison sites now have an individual site safety plan to address violence and aggression.
The plans fall under the Violence and Aggression Joint Action Plan developed by the Department of Corrections in partnership with the Corrections Association of New Zealand and the Public Service Association.
This comes as data released under the Official Information Act reveals that the frequency of assaults on staff has increased at Whanganui Prison in recent years but decreased slightly at Manawatū Prison.
Whanganui Prison, east of Whanganui near Kaitoke, accommodates about 434 male prisoners. It recorded 38 assaults on staff in the 2022-23 financial year, up from 29 in 2021-22.
Manawatū Prison, in Linton south of Palmerston North, has about 214 male prisoners. It recorded 30 assaults on staff in 2022-23, down from 36 in the previous year.
While the majority of assaults did not result in injuries, there was one case at Manawatū that left a prison officer needing medical treatment.
The incident took place in November 2022, when a prisoner ignored instructions to get out of the shower when it was time for lock-up. The prisoner punched the officer in the face, Corrections records show.
Another officer at Manawatū Prison required hospital treatment in August 2021, when he was punched twice in the head by a prisoner.
Murray Wilson/Stuff
Manawatū Prison, at Linton south of Palmerston North, has about 214 prisoners.
Of the 38 incidents at Whanganui Prison in 2022-23, 14 resulted in non-serious injuries, while nine of the 30 incidents at Manawatū resulted in non-serious injuries.
Corrections national commissioner Leigh Marsh urged caution when comparing figures, given the different sizes of prison populations.
He said the department’s staff managed some of New Zealand’s most dangerous people in an extremely complex and challenging environment.
“Prisons can be volatile environments, and many of the prisoners our staff work with can behave unpredictably and act without warning.
“We have a zero-tolerance policy toward violence of any kind.
“The reality is, the threat of violence is something we cannot eliminate entirely, but we do everything possible to minimise this risk.”
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Corrections national commissioner Leigh Marsh says the department has zero tolerance for violence.
Corrections had processes to keep staff safe, and resources were available if they needed more support, Marsh said.
The department had also invested in training and tools such as de-escalation skills, stab-resistant body armour, body cameras, and the expanded deployment of pepper spray.
Since the joint action plan was established, Corrections has worked with the New Zealand Police to use the 105 reporting tool to report assaults on staff. Post-incident psychological support has also been made available.
More than half of the agency’s frontline staff – or 2025 officers nationwide – have completed a tactical communication course offered by Cert NZ, New Zealand’s Computer Emergency Response Team, along with more hostage and suicide and post-incident response training.
Prisoners who assaulted staff or other prisoners were held to account, sometimes losing privileges. When appropriate, the assault would be referred to police, who were responsible for laying criminal charges, Marsh said.
