TikTok videos filmed inside prisons are causing headaches for Corrections, such as this one purportedly captured in Auckland Prison at Paremoremo, the country's only maximum security facility. Video / Supplied
Corrections is managing a rising number of people holding extremist views or at risk of radicalisation, the department has warned its new minister.
Meanwhile, it is continuing to battle issues with staff retention and recruitment amid a renewed rise in the prison population, according to the department’s briefingto incoming Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell, released on Thursday.
The briefing also discusses the steep rise in the number of people on electronically monitored bail. That cohort has increased from less than 500 in 2017 to about 1700 late last year.
But a crucial section of the document regarding “key upcoming decisions” for Corrections is redacted in its entirety, under a section of the Official Information Act used to withhold details to protect the confidentiality of advice tendered by ministers of the Crown and officials.
“In recent years, there has been an increase in the number of people we manage who are identified as potentially holding extremist views or displaying risk factors and indicators specific to radicalisation or violent extremism,” the briefing says.
“We are also one of the government agencies dealing with the emergence of new, more sophisticated gangs and domestic and transnational organised crime groups.”
The briefing mentions the Prisoners of Extreme Risk Unit (Peru) in Auckland Prison at Paremoremo, a special prison within a prison set up after the Christchurch terror attacks.
Alongside mosque killer Brenton Tarrant, the unit has housed other inmates deemed capable of influencing other prisoners, such as high-ranking gang members and international drug trafficker Xavier Valent, who is serving a life sentence in the unit.
LynnMall terrorist Ahamed Samsudeen from his New Zealand visa application (left) and when he was in prison (right).
Two years ago, a review found insufficient work by Corrections, police and intelligence services to deradicalise LynnMall terrorist Ahamed Aathil Mohamed Samsudeen, who committed a mass stabbing the previous year in West Auckland.
The Isis-inspired extremist was released from prison in July 2021 after he was convicted of two charges of possessing objectionable material relating to the Islamic State (Isis), and a charge of failing to assist a police officer exercising a search power.
STAFFING WOES
The briefing acknowledged Corrections’ well-publicised staffing woes. The Herald earlier reported Mt Eden Corrections Facility, the country’s busiest prison, was more than 60 officers short late last year.
“Like many organisations, we have faced pressures recruiting and retaining staff,” the briefing said.
“We ramped up our efforts to recruit more frontline staff and have seen a strong increase in the number of job applications for Corrections officers as a result, with more than 11,810 applications received since 1 October 2022. We have also recruited 826 people into Corrections officer roles, with many more in the recruitment pipeline.”
Waikeria Prison, near Te Awamutu, is getting a new 600-bed unit which is expected to be finished in November. Photo / Dean Purcell
According to the briefing, an average of about 9000 people were in prison in 2022-2023. The department managed about 27,000 more people in the community, such as those on electronically monitored sentences or other community-based sentences, or on bail.
REMAND SPIKE
The briefing said the increase in the number of people on remand awaiting trial or sentence was creating challenges for the department.
“After a period of relative stability from July 2020 to July 2022 there has been a steady increase in the remand population,” the briefing said.
“Based on projections, and without interventions, it is likely that the remand population will continue to grow faster than the sentenced population. The high number and proportion of people on remand is significant and has created challenges for Corrections across multiple areas.”
EM BAIL INCREASES 250%
The number of people in the community on electronically monitored (EM) bail - an alternative to imprisonment while on remand awaiting sentence or trial - has increased from 495 in 2017 to 1743 in November last year, the briefing said.
The number of people on electronically monitored bail has more than tripled in six years. Photo / NZME
“The particularly rapid growth of EM bail is creating resourcing pressures, complexities in assessing and managing risk, and making it more difficult to retain staff.”
The facility includes a dedicated 96-bed mental health unit.
PRISON POPULATION STEADILY RISING AGAIN
Figures provided in the briefing show the prison population is steadily on the rise after reaching a record low under the previous Labour Government.
The total prison population declined from more than 10,000 in 2020 to a little under 8000 at the end of 2021.
Since then, it has been generally on the increase, driven in part by a significant rise in the number of prisoners on remand awaiting trial or sentence amid court backlogs.
It now sits at about 9000, of whom 57 per cent are sentenced prisoners and 43 per cent are on remand.
Māori make up 52 per cent of the prison population and 45 per cent of the people Corrections manages in the community, the briefing said.
It said 11 per cent of inmates are under 25 and 6 per cent are women.
