Prison guards to get stab-proof vests

Small numbers of stab-proof vests will soon be available to prison guards after assaults on them swelled last year to an average of one a day, the Corrections Department says.

Corrections is seeking tenders from companies to provide up to 850 vests at a cost of $1000 to $1500 each, the Dominion Post reported.

The vests would be issued to maximum-security officers and dog handlers this year, with more to be shared among about 4000 officers in New Zealand's 20 prisons.

Assistant general manager of prisons Brendan Anstiss said they were not intended for everyday wear.

Attacks on staff had nearly trebled since 2003 and guards were also endangered in fights between prisoners.

In December, officers had to drag an inmate away from convicted murderer Graeme Burton during a stabbing in the maximum-security section of Auckland Prison at Paremoremo.

Burton was charged with attempted murder after allegedly stabbing a fellow inmate through the heart and in the shoulders, arms and legs with a sharpened steel rod.

Corrections will also introduce batons and spit hoods and will trial pepper spray this year.

- NZPA