Prison searches tightened after knife found

Graeme Burton. Photo / Brett Phibbs

Corrections Minister Judith Collins says she was concerned a knife was found in convicted double murderer Graeme Burton's cell but that search management has already been tightened because of the incident.

The knife was found hidden in a fan during a search of Burton's cell at Auckland Prison at Paremoremo about a month ago.

Ms Collins said Burton was an extremely dangerous prisoner and was subject to daily cell searches.

It was during one of those searches the knife was found.

There was no suggestion Burton had had the knife for any length of time, Ms Collins said.

"While extremely concerned that this prisoner obtained a knife, I am relieved that it was found by a vigilant staff member doing a routine security check, and confiscated."

She said the incident had seen a tightening of search management for dangerous prisoners.

Employment investigations were under way and Ms Collins would not comment further while they were continuing.

Burton was on directed segregation which means he had no contact with visitors or other prisoners.

Any weapons prisoners got risked the safety of Corrections staff, Ms Collins said.

However, violent incidents at Auckland Prison had fallen.

From February to May 2010 there was one recorded serious assault on staff compared with five in the same period in 2007, Ms Collins said.

In a bid to improve safety in prisons the Government passed a new law giving Corrections staff greater power to search prisoners for weapons and contraband. It also restricted access to razor blades, introduced new staff safety equipment and put perspex screens over barred cells to reduce weapons and contraband being passed between prisoners, Ms Collins said.

Labour's law and order spokesman Clayton Cosgrove said if one of New Zealand's most lethal prisoners could get a knife in maximum security "goodness knows" what prisoners in lower-security facilities were able to get a hold of.

"We have a maximum security prisoner who has a track history of murder and violence both inside and outside (prison), a maximum security prisoner in a maximum security prison who has a pocket knife in his cell," he said.

"(Ms Collins) said she was getting weaponry out of prisons, she said she got razor blades out of prisons, she has failed."

Mr Cosgrove said Ms Collins should be reviewing the Corrections Department security procedures, should set out her expectations and tell the public why she failed.

Burton was returned to prison after being sentenced to preventive detention with a minimum non-parole period of 26 years for the murder of Lower Hutt man Karl Kuchenbecker in January 2007 while on parole.

He was subsequently sentenced to preventive detention with a minimum non-parole period of 10 years, to be served concurrently to the murder sentence, following a guilty verdict on a charge of attempting to murder fellow inmate Dwayne Marsh after he stabbed him with a sharpened steel rod.

- NZPA