Fourth guard assaulted as prison crisis deepens

Tensions in Upper Hutt's Rimutaka Prison are at boiling point after the fourth staff assault in 48 hours.

A prison officers union says inmates are running riot at the jail, with management choosing to "bury its head in the sand" over the situation.

The assaults have occurred during a nationwide prison muster crisis, with inmate numbers at their highest ever.

The Corrections Department, which briefly used vans to house prisoners and a rugby club to shower and exercise them, has also had to cope with several escapes in recent days.

That has led to meetings between Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor and Corrections management. Mr O'Connor is expected to report to the Cabinet on Monday.

A Rimutaka guard said the situation inside the jail was "dynamite" after another guard was beaten yesterday.

It is believed to be the ninth attack on staff at the prison this month, the most at any New Zealand jail.

The attack, in the same high-security unit in which a guard was attacked by four inmates on Wednesday, is understood to have occurred after a prisoner demanded access to a cell and was denied.

The guard was repeatedly kicked and left with cuts and abrasions to the face and his eyes swollen shut.

It is understood that the injured guard was taken to hospital for treatment before being discharged, though Corrections' public prison service general manager, Dave East, said he was treated at the jail.

The guard said staff frustration was at boiling point.

"There's hardly a day goes by when some officer isn't assaulted, or something has happened, a violent episode."

However, Mr East said the recent assaults - while concerning - were "minor incidents".

"Given the nature of people we deal with in prisons, minor incidents are inevitable."

- NZPA