Police get new means to restrain prisoners

The new restraints aim to reduce risk to staff and self-harm by prisoners. Photo / Hawkes Bay Today

New safety restraints including a spitting hood and leg restraints have been introduced by police in an effort to protect officers and stop prisoners from harming themselves.

Police had expressed concern over difficulties in restraining people high on alcohol and drugs to prevent them from hurting themselves, police magazine Ten-One reported.

Prisoners would sometimes strike their heads against walls and doors and police were forced to improvise to keep them safe.

A two-year safety review of 8000 cases found that nearly 10 per cent of offenders had spat at officers but police had limited methods to deal with this.

The magazine reported that in addition to the review, police in Christchurch and Dunedin had been trialling a restraint for beds and leg restraints in vehicles.

Human rights groups including Amnesty International and the Howard League for Penal reform were consulted.

"Both organisations noted the difficulties police faced and that the policy was a pragmatic solution to manage difficult prisoners who were focused on harming themselves and others."

Key changes to police safety measures are:

* A restraint board has been provided to 27 key overnight holding facilities to deal with high level cases of violence and self-harm.

* Spitting hoods and leg restraints in vehicles and a new plastic wrist restraint have been approved.

* Staff can now consider a wider range of factors in deciding when to use restraints.

* A focus on considering restraining prisoners being transported to reduce the risk of interfering with the driver or escaping.

* Continued use of restraints in cell blocks to reduce the risk to staff and of escape.

In April 2008, the Corrections Department introduced waist restraints for prisoners being transported to cut back on assaults and escapes.

It began testing them in 2007, following criticism of transport security after the murder of 17-year-old Liam Ashley in August 2006.

Liam's killer, George Charlie Baker, strangled him and stamped on his head in a van taking them to Auckland Central Remand Prison at Mt Eden.

- NZPA