No visits for inmates at Rimutaka Prison for year and half due to understaffing

• Prisoners were not allowed family visits for a year and a half due to low staff levels at Rimutaka Prison
• Corrections has increased staffing to 86% and expects full capacity by March 2025
• Despite low staff levels, inmates reported positive dealings with staff in some units and departments

Rimutaka Prison inmates went a year and a half with no visitors due to understaffing, an inspection report has revealed.

Two men during a review period also risked suffering “irreversible” damage by spending months in unapproved prolonged solitary confinement.

At the time of the inspection in December last year, staffing shortages meant the Wellington region prison was operating with only 80% of its custodial staff.

“This led to units being regularly understaffed, some custodial staff were fatigued, and rehabilitation programmes and constructive activities were not available for most prisoners,” said the Office of the Inspectorate.

Corrections said since the inspection they have risen to having 86% of frontline staff, and expected to be at full capacity in March next year.

Chief Inspector Janis Adair said the inspection found site managers had a clear focus on safety and security, but staff and prisoners alike were concerned about the staffing levels and the resulting lack of programmes and activities for prisoners.

Prisoners were receiving most of their minimum entitlements, including telephone calls and at least an hour out of their cell every day.

“But it was concerning that at the time of our inspection, no in-person visits were taking place, and there had been no visits since August 2022,” Adair said.

Limited visits have been available from March 2024.

It is a minimum entitlement for prisoners to have one in-person, 30-minute visit per week.

“We observed that most prisoners had little to do and that prisoners in the high-security part of the prison spent much of their time locked in their cells,” Adair said.

Corrections chief custodial officer Neil Beales.

In the six-month review period, the inspection also found there were two men who had been on directed segregation for more than three months, who had been denied association with other prisoners.

“These men had likely experienced prolonged solitary confinement as that is defined in the Mandela Rules (i.e. more than 22 hours a day without meaningful human interaction, in excess of 15 days). This was concerning.”

The report said solitary confinement longer than 15 days is considered “prolonged”.

“Fifteen days is the limit between ‘solitary confinement’ and ‘prolonged solitary confinement’ because the literature suggests that after that point some of the harmful psychological effects of isolation can become irreversible,” the report said.

Segregation beyond three months requires regular reviews and approval by a visiting Justice, but this did not happen for the two inmates.

Adair said she expected prison management to take steps to address the challenges raised in the report, and she would be monitoring their progress.

The health team was found to be delivering a good quality of service despite being “significantly” understaffed and “under pressure”.

But Adair said this situation was “not sustainable”.

“Prisoners commented on the respectful and kind treatment they had received from the health team.”

The inspection found staff and prisoners were positive about the prison’s full body scanning machine, which meant newly arrived prisoners or those suspected of concealing contraband could be scanned while fully clothed and did not need to be strip searched.

Inspectors found positive interactions between staff and prisoners in the Special Treatment Unit, where the rehabilitation programme for violent offenders takes place. In this unit, other constructive activities were offered, such as kapa haka, tikanga classes and whānau hui.

Prisoners told inspectors they mentored each other and held each other to account.

The Inspectorate is a critical part of the independent oversight of the Corrections system and operates under the Corrections Act 2004 and the Corrections Regulations 2005. The Inspectorate, while part of Corrections, is operationally independent to ensure objectivity and integrity.

Two men were in directed segregation for more than three months.

Corrections’ deputy commissioner for men’s prisons, Neil Beales, said they acknowledged the release of the report.

“Overall the report recognises a lot of positive work being done by staff at the prison that led to improved outcomes for prisoners,” Beales said.

“I am incredibly proud of the staff at Rimutaka Prison and would like to thank them for their excellent work.”

He said multiple improvements have been made since the inspection, including taking steps to ensure consistent leadership.

“As with many other large businesses in New Zealand, Corrections has experienced staffing pressures in recent years, and Rimutaka Prison has been one of our most impacted sites.

“At the time of the inspection, Rimutaka Prison was operating under a Staffing Level Response Roster to allow staff to focus on delivering essential services that ensured the safe and secure operation of the prison.”

Many rehabilitation and reintegration programmes were reduced and site visits paused, he said.

“We acknowledge the impact this has had on both staff and prisoners and have worked hard to resume these activities.”

They have made “concerted efforts” to recruit and retain staff.

“At the time of the inspection in December 2023, Rimutaka’s frontline staffing levels were at 79% of available staff and the prison is now operating at 86%.

“Due to the increase in staffing levels, the site was able to resume family visits in March this year, with all units now having a weekly allocated time slot for these to occur.

“AVL visits are also offered as an option for those who have family outside of the region and who are unable to travel for face-to-face visits.”

Corrections is also working to increase remand-focused activities, as Rimutaka has a higher proportion of remand prisoners.

“In August, the prison opened a low-security unit to accommodate remand prisoners using the Remand Management Tool (RMT). Generally, remand prisoners are classified as high security but the RMT allows the prison to manage some remand prisoners in a less restrictive environment where it is safe to do so.”

With expectations of reaching full custodial staffing levels by March, Rimutaka Prison is focusing on making more programmes, activities and cultural support available, particularly in high-security units.

“The prison is providing a number of rehabilitation programmes for the men already this year including short rehabilitation programmes and medium intensity rehabilitation programmes.

“As well as rehabilitation, the prison also provides the opportunity for the men to achieve skills in primary industries, horticulture, Tikanga Māori, first aid and forklift training."

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.