Prison violence a shameful stain

If society can be measured by its treatment of prison inmates, ours would seem to be falling short of basic humanity. Photo / Doug Sherring

I've spent time in Mt Eden remand and Paremoremo maximum security prisons — not, I should add, as an inmate. I was MC at a charity fundraiser at the brand spanking new remand prison just before it opened a few years back and we were instructed not to wear high heels as they would make dents in the linoleum floor.

It seemed an absurd nicety then; even more absurd now. Surely, I thought, the prisoners would have more to worry about than whether or not the linoleum floor was pockmarked. Still, we all did as we were told, a great night was had and much money was raised for Shine, a charity that tries to prevent domestic violence.

But even though Mt Eden remand was state of the art and no one had yet been locked up there, it was a depressing place to be.

Walking around the tiny cells, and staring over the now infamous balcony to the hall below, I felt that being incarcerated was detrimental to the spirit and I hoped and prayed that no one I loved would ever end up there.

Paremoremo was just ghastly, as maximum securities should be, I suppose, but really, the cages at the SPCA are more hospitable.

I was filming a video about armed robberies and we visited the isolation cells. The outdoor exercise yard for these cells is tiny and covered with an iron grill so dense you can barely see the sky through it. It is a place of utter hopelessness. A thousand times worse than Mt Eden. And that, I hope, will be the first and last time I ever have to visit there.

Being locked up and being deprived of your freedom — freedom of movement, freedom of choice — is a powerful punishment. And we're very good at locking people up in this country. For every 100,000 New Zealanders, 188 people, mainly men, are locked up.

Those numbers mean our prison population is seventh highest among OECD countries; second highest in Western countries. Between 1997 and 2011, our prison population increased by 70 per cent. Most of these prisoners are given sentences of two years or less and it costs around $90,000 to keep someone in prison for 12 months.

Our prison system is a growth industry. The Corrections Department has a budget of more than $1 billion and there are predictions it will become the biggest government department within a few years.

So those are the statistics. Yet another shameful stain on this country. All sorts of plans are in place to try to keep people out of prison and to reduce re-offending. Giving the contract to run Mt Eden prison to private company Serco is one of those measures but, so far, they have had limited success.

Of course, Serco bosses are fighting to retain their credibility and their contract after Labour MP Kelvin Davis shone a light on the violence in our jails.

First, videos uploaded to YouTube showed prisoners involved in a fight club. Then there were accusations a young man had been assaulted, resulting in his death and, more recently, claims that another prisoner had been assaulted and ended up with broken legs after jumping from the balcony to flee his assailants.

Anecdotally, lawyers say they've seen a huge increase in clients turning up with black eyes and broken bones after remand stays at Mt Eden and inmates from other prisons dread being sent there. However, ex-cons who called me on the radio say this violence is not new.

Prisons are violent places, and always have been. You have to make it clear from day one that you cannot and will not be intimidated and if that means throwing the first punch, so be it. They told me prisons are woefully understaffed and guards must reach an accommodation with inmates so they can manage them.

Sometimes that means turning a blind eye to illegal activity; sometimes that means doing favours for inmates. Again, they've said that this has always gone on and the claims of understaffing are typical of most prisons.

This should not be happening. Being locked up is punishment enough. Inmates shouldn't have to live in daily fear of violence. Yet if you lock up hundreds of men and keep them in close proximity to one another, with little to do and inadequate supervision, violence is inevitable.

Prisons are made more awful by poor management. The Corrections Minister Sam Lotu-Iiga has been found wanting — whether he's been let down by his department or is out of his depth remains to be seen. When we send someone to prison, we hope they learn a lesson; that they serve their time and come out, rehabilitated. That may be an unrealistic expectation.

However, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect that when we send a man to prison, he comes out alive. Sam Lotu-Iiga needs to make sure that happens.

• Kerre McIvor is on Newstalk ZB Monday-Thursday, 8pm-midnight.