Whanganui Prison general manager Reti Pearse said the prison had a population of 476 prisoners at the end of January.
Whanganui Prison recorded its highest number of prisoner-on-staff assaults in more than a decade in 2025.
There were 63 reported incidents of staff assaults at the Kaitoke-based Whanganui Prison.
That is more than three times the 21 reported in the 2023-24 financial year.
None of the assaults last year were categorised as serious, with the last serious assault on staff at Whanganui Prison reported in 2019.
Prison general manager Reti Pearse said while it was a positive there were no serious assaults in the past year, any assault was unacceptable.
“We have been working hard to address this,” Pearse said.
“While the threat of violence is something we cannot eliminate entirely, we are committed to doing everything possible to minimise this risk and provide the safest environment possible for staff and prisoners.”
The prison had invested in training and tools to keep Corrections staff safe, including de-escalation techniques, interpersonal communication skills, stab-resistant vests, pepper spray and body-worn cameras.
“We are continuing to work with the unions to implement our Reducing Violence and Aggression Joint Action Plan and developing the next phase of this plan, called ‘Safer Prisons’, to ensure we are adapting and responsive to the current challenges and risks of the prison environment,” he said.
“In recent years we’ve also grown our focus on reporting, encouraging our staff to report any assault, regardless of how serious.”
Corrections Association of New Zealand (CANZ) president Floyd du Plessis said the increase in assaults was a national issue, driven by overcrowded populations.
“When you have got overcrowding that drives tension, that tension leads to incidents - that’s directly relative,” du Plessis said.
“At select sites like Whanganui, the staff have done a phenomenally good job. There has been a lot more interaction between staff and management to drive plans.
“While there has been a high number of incidents, they have been handled well so the number of serious incidents is not there.”
Du Plessis estimated 85% of the 253 fulltime Corrections staff at Whanganui were CANZ members.
On January 29, the population of prisoners at Whanganui Prison was 476, the lowest since March 2023.
The current maximum operating capacity for the prison is 557, made up of 300 low security and 257 high security beds.
High security includes capacity for up to 180 remand prisoners, which varies daily.
In December 2025, Whanganui had a prison population of 540 - the highest since June 2019 when there were 547 prisoners.
There were six staff assaults reported in December.
Du Plessis said working with “volatile people” in an overcrowded prison was leading to an increase in tension and, subsequently, further assaults.
He said the prison’s infrastructure was old and poorly designed, which was putting pressure on staff.
“There are some of those units where staff are constantly on the go, they constantly need to move prisoners from one area to the next - it’s not designed well to manage the numbers we currently have,” du Plessis said.
“If we didn’t have double bunking, that would make things a lot easier because you’d halve your population which would definitely increase the deficiencies within those units.
“It’s time for Whanganui Prison to build some new units and modernise the way it’s designed.”
Since July last year, provisionally there have been 34 prisoner-on-prisoner assaults at Whanganui Prison - two of which were categorised as serious.
In October 2024, the Chronicle reported there had been a small increase in prisoner-on-prisoner assaults in the 2023-24 financial year, with 59 compared to 46 the previous year.
It was the second-highest number of assaults after 2019/20’s 60 assaults.
Whanganui Prison currently has 253 fulltime equivalent custodial staff, including corrections officers, senior corrections officers and principal corrections officers, with 10 vacancies.
In February 2025, the Chronicle reported there were 2.2 staff vacancies, which was significantly lower than the 27 vacancies out of 246 fulltime equivalent roles in November 2023.
Du Plessis said the staff-to-prisoner ratio was manageable but the number was “not as straightforward”, taking into consideration the prison’s infrastructure.
The overall staff turnover at Whanganui Prison as of December 31 was 5.6% and the corrections officer turnover during this time was 6.4%.
The national turnover average of corrections officers was 8.2%.
Du Plessis said a big concern for CANZ was the allure of Australia for Corrections staff.
“There are a number of Australian states that are actively targeting our Corrections staff; that is a concern because they are paying higher wages for the same work,” he said.
“The turnover rate has been on the increase. It is something that we’d like to see below that 5% point.”
Du Plessis warned the turnover percentage would increase if nothing was done to keep staff.
Pearse said there had been no significant change to the available programmes or initiatives for prisoners.
Prisoners have continued to take part in community projects, including building, refurbishing, repurposing and providing products.
Pearse said the horticulture programme, which encouraged the men to grow plants, had been beneficial for prisoners and receiving organisations, such as Women’s Refuge, hospices, bird rescue and more.
Vegetables and fruit grown in the horticulture programmes were donated weekly to Whanganui foodbanks.
In 2025, prisoners transformed beds into dog kennels for the SPCA and donated children’s furniture, kindling and toys to the likes of Women’s Refuge and nearby hospitals.
Pearse said the prison was looking forward to helping out the community more this year.
Du Plessis said the overall feedback from Whanganui Prison’s union members had been positive, with the majority of frustration directed at a national level.
“It is a volatile place, it’s a difficult job, but generally the staff do a pretty good job - they are working hard,” du Plessis said.
“There is a lot of work being done to make sure that there are plans in place so staff are safe, prisoners are safe and that seems to be working at the moment.”
Fin Ocheduszko Brown is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.