Full review to take place into prisoner climbing on Ngawha Prison roof in Northland

A previous photo of Ngawha Prison, where a man climbed onto the roof today. Photo / NZME

A yearning for nicotine lozenges is the suspected reason a prisoner climbed onto a roof of a Far North prison which sparked a negotiation situation with Corrections staff.

Northern Regional Commissioner Sean Mason said the man climbed onto the roof of a unit at the Northland Region Corrections Facility, also known as Ngawha Prison, at around 2pm today. The man is now down from the roof.

“Early indications are that the prisoner was wanting nicotine lozenges, but the reasons for the incident will be the subject of the review.”

He said the unit had been within the secure perimeter of the prison grounds and there had not been a threat to the wider security of the prison or the public.

Staff immediately responded after learning of the prisoner’s actions and were able to “contain the incident”.

They had been speaking to the man to try to bring him down off the unit’s roof. A Prison Negotiation Team was also brought in to help.

“The incident at Northland Region Corrections Facility has been safely resolved, with the prisoner now down from the roof and secured,” Mason said.

He praised the “excellent job” calmly carried out by staff as they successfully de-escalated the incident.

“I would like to acknowledge them for their professionalism and bravery,” Mason said.

No one had been hurt in the standoff. Mason had earlier confirmed the other men at the Corrections facility had been “secured” and were safe.

A full review will take place and a decision will be made on whether the matter needed to be referred to police.

“While there has been no visible damage, a full assessment will be carried out,” Mason said.

The Advocate’s inquiries as to how the man accessed the roof were not directly addressed.