Hawke's Bay Prison: Officers in riot gear surround rooftop inmates

Five prisoners spent the night on the roof of Hawke's Bay Prison in a protest over an inmate's security upgrade.
This morning the prisoners were making Mongrel Mob salutes from the roof, and asking guards for chicken sandwiches.
About six prison officers were positioned on a nearby roof wearing riot gear, while about four more could be seen stationed on the ground.
It was not yet known how the prisoners had accessed the roof, said Prison Services general manager Brendan Anstiss.

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Prison officers were in communication with the inmates, who had asked for chicken sandwiches, but no food had been provided.

"The standard practice is to show some patience and wait these situations out.

"It's not that comfortable on the roof and they'll get cold and hungry.

"We're continuing to talk to them and we'll do so until the situation is resolved."

The compound where the prisoners were located was surrounded by two perimeter fences, and there was no risk of the prisoners escaping.

"We've got the area surrounded with corrections officers," he said.

"There's nowhere for them to go so there's no threat to public safety or staff.

"These are pretty rare occurrences but we do train for these situations."

The protest began at 4.45pm yesterday when one prisoner became agitated after he was reclassified to maximum security, Mr Anstiss said.

The security change would mean being transferred to a maximum security site.

"He had been reclassified because of his behaviour in prison and ironically now he's demonstrated exactly the behaviour that has caused us to be concerned about his security."

The inmate encouraged another 11 prisoners to join the protest with him in an accommodation wing of the prison. Mr Anstiss said they were contained within the wing and staff monitored their behaviour.

During the night, seven prisoners chose to return to their cells without incident, and the remaining five made their way to the roof early this morning.

Other prisoners would be on a restricted regime with reduced unlocked time and activities until the situation was resolved.

Mr Anstiss said the prisoners involved would face disciplinary action within the prison, which could result in sanctions. It was up to police whether charges would be laid.

"Police were involved from early on, they're at the prison and working with corrections."

Hastings Sergeant Mike Stevenson said police had sent "a handful" of officers to the scene.

"We have a few negotiators out there doing their thing, but the ongoing incident is being contained by prison staff," he said.