KEY POINTS:
An inmate who allegedly took a female prison guard hostage had access to dangerous tools - despite being assessed as posing a serious risk to female staff.
The information is contained in a Department of Corrections report into last September's hostage drama at Auckland Prison at Paremoremo, obtained by the Herald under the Official Information Act.
Jeremy William Mataira, 46, is accused of holding the guard hostage at knifepoint in a storeroom at Paremoremo for almost three hours.
He faces charges including kidnapping, assault, indecent assault, assault with a weapon and assault with intent to commit sexual violation. He has been ordered to stand trial in the High Court at Auckland in October.
Mataira was given the job of office/corridor cleaner and was given access to the storeroom.
The report said that since the incident the prison had replaced the automatic locking mechanism on the door, relocated prisoner tools (such as carving equipment and chisels) to a specific and secure storage area that is monitored and checked daily, and reviewed the emergency response to incidents such as kidnapping.
It said there "was a significant degree of confusion as to command, control and co-ordination" during the hostage situation. Several areas were identified for improvement.
The report also said the level of cell searching and maintenance of cell standards in the unit Mataira was in were not up to the required standard.
The investigation into the incident was not able to determine how Mataira obtained the knife and chisel allegedly used in the incident. (The chisel was not taken from the toolbox).
Mataira's "hatred for uniformed women" had been noted in a previous report and in 1998, he was found to be stalking (through his job as a cleaner) a female medical staff member.
The report said he continually resisted taking part in psychological assessment and treatment.
A 2001 report into Mataira said: "Female staff (in particular) from any service within the Department of Corrections (and associated medical professionals) should not see Mr Mataira without close custodial supervision."
It also said: "At this time his risk of sexually or violently assaulting prison staff is extreme and it is strongly recommended that the prison service continue to take all available precautions to minimise this risk."
The latest report recommends the department look at developing a list of offenders who may present a risk to staff and establish a role to provide an ongoing overview of a prisoner's management.
Northern regional manager Warren Cummins said prison was a volatile environment and there would always be a small but significant number of inmates who might be prone to "sudden behaviour changes".
"Corrections make thousands of interactions with prisoners each week, and thankfully incidents where a staff member is taken hostage are extremely rare."
Report findings
* There was "significant confusion" among prison managers over how to respond to last September's hostage crisis at Paremoremo.
* The level of cell searching was not up to the required standard.
* Prisoner tools such as carving equipment and chisels have since been moved to a secure storage area.
