Mongols gang president Jim David Thacker has been in solitary confinement for nearly 3 years. He recently failed to convince the High Court to overturn Corrections' decision to keep him there. Photos / Supplied
The leader of a notorious gang has failed in his legal battle to be shifted from a controversial “prison within a prison” where he has been in solitary confinement for years.
Jim David Thacker was deported from Australia in 2018 and established the first New Zealand chapter of the Mongols, an international outlaw motorcycle club with roots in the United States.
The arrival of the Mongols in the Bay of Plenty, in particular, sparked a turf war with rival gangs including a shooting where 96 rounds were fired into a house.
But Thacker had never been in prison until June 2020 when he was arrested as the main target in Operation Silk, a covert police investigation into the gang’s drug and violence offending.
Better known as JD, Thacker was convicted late last year of 40 charges including unlawful possession of firearms, participating in an organised criminal group, possession of methamphetamine, cocaine and MDMA for supply and money laundering.
The 33-year-old is due to be sentenced in the High Court next month.
However, Thacker recently took a civil case against the Department of Corrections for placing him in “directed segregation” - essentially solitary confinement - for nearly all of his time in custody since 2020. He also hasn’t had face-to-face contact with his family for two years.
He is currently an inmate in the Prisoners of Extreme Risk Unit (PERU) at Auckland Prison in Paremoremo, New Zealand’s only maximum security facility.
The PERU has been described as a “prison within a prison” and is a completely separate custodial unit with different staff and management.
There were 13 inmates held in the unit as of June, according to information released by under the Official Information Act.
Among a bundle of documents released by the Department under the Act was a guideline for dealing with prisoners with Autism who were housed in PERU. It is understood at least one inmate since its inception met that criteria.
Corrections would not confirm their identities but the Herald on Sunday understands the Christchurch terrorist Brenton Tarrant (serving a life sentence without parole for murdering 51 people at two mosques), and Xavier Valent (serving a life sentence as one of New Zealand’s biggest drug dealers) are among them.
“For the most part, this is due to the ongoing risk of serious violence that [the inmates] present; however, could also be due to their capability to influence others to engage in serious violence or threats to others, including staff,” National Commissioner Leigh Marsh said in a response to a request under the Official Information Act.
“While these risks may include violent extremism, this is not always the case. For example, additional measures may be required to safely manage individuals who are connected to sophisticated organised criminal networks, with the capability to seriously threaten the safety and security of a prison.”
Earlier this year, Thacker’s legal team of Janet Mason and Niall Thrupp sued Corrections by asking the High Court to formally review the decision of prison management to place their client in “directed segregation”.
This amounted to “improper punishment”, alleged Thacker, who also sought a judicial review of decisions to refuse him contact with his family.
Essentially, his case was that he was never given an opportunity to show good behaviour.
Instead, Thacker alleged he was targeted by prison authorities from the outset simply because of his status as the president of the Mongols, and apparent influence over other inmates, rather than his actual conduct or risk to safety within the prison.
He also claimed that Corrections was biased against him because of his gang membership and he was in directed segregation as a matter of routine.
This was to improperly punish him, Thacker alleged, as was the decision to deny him visits with his family or AVL calls.
Corrections also failed to take into account the effect of his deteriorating mental health from being held continuously in directed segregation, Thacker alleged.
But in a judgment released this month, Justice David Gendall said Thacker’s allegation that directed segregation was used against him as a punishment was “in my view quite unsupported by any evidence before me”.
The High Court judge was also satisfied that Corrections did take into account Thacker’s mental health and wellbeing, as well as the Crown’s obligations under the Treaty of Waitangi, New Zealand’s obligations to prisoners under international agreements, as well as the Bill of Rights.
Justice Gendall also dismissed Thacker’s allegation that his position as the president of the Mongols led to his time in directed segregation, as opposed to his conduct or safety risk.
While Thacker has attempted to minimise what appears to be the “violent and volatile nature of his behaviour” which prompted the applications to place him in directed segregation, Justice Gendall said the evidence suggested he was a significant risk to the security of the prison.
Thacker was first placed under directed segregation at Waikeria Prison in September 2020 when he refused several times to stop contact sparring. He claimed it was non-contact sparring with his cousin as a form of exercise. But prison management viewed his defiance against the backdrop of rising tensions and non-compliant behaviour in Waikeria caused by the growing numbers of Mongols.
“His behaviour was perceived by the prison authorities as carrying significant weight here,” Justice Gendall said.
The day after the directed segregation period of two weeks ended, Thacker intentionally blocked the security cameras in the prison yard and refused to leave despite instructions to do so.
This was characterised by Corrections as “an attempt to create disorder”, though Thacker said his behaviour was a protest against prison conditions.
He allegedly made serious threats against Corrections staff - including to kill one particular officer - and was placed in directed segregation again.
Two days later, Thacker was transferred to Auckland Prison where his behaviour allegedly deteriorated further.
“It is said his behaviour was unpredictable with quick and frequent escalations to volatility, with regular shouting at Corrections staff, and a resistance to prison rules and the regular boundaries that had been set,” Justice Gendall said.
Despite being kept apart from other inmates, Corrections was also concerned by Thacker’s ongoing “sphere of influence” inside the prison and regular incidents of disruption over the next two years.
He damaged cell doors, barricaded himself in the yard for four hours - with three other inmates following suit - setting fire to his cell, throwing liquid over Corrections officers, and misusing the phone to speak with an unauthorised person.
“It cannot be the case, nor is it alleged in my view, that two prison directors, one deputy director, three senior advisors, the Visiting Justice and every Corrections officer involved in the decisions in question, fabricated or exaggerated the nature of Mr Thacker’s behaviour and the consequent risk he posed,” Justice Gendall said.
“The decisions to place and keep Mr Thacker in directed segregation reference various specific instances where Mr Thacker largely demonstrated violent and disruptive behaviour and illustrated the tangible influence he had over other prisoners…. Arguably, Mr Thacker’s influence over the conduct of other prisoners was not merely potential. It was real.”
The judicial review application was dismissed. Thacker has now been in directed segregation for nearly three years.
His mother Tamaku Thacker will be visiting her son in prison this weekend for the first time in two years, although is not allowed to touch him. She was disappointed by the High Court ruling and says the ongoing isolation for Thacker is having a “massive” impact on his mental health.
“You’ve got no idea how much I want to see him...but I just want to get him out of that unit,” Tamaku Thacker said. “It’s coming up to three years now, it’s doing his head in. We just want to get a fair go.”
His lawyer Janet Mason confirmed that she would take Thacker’s case to the Court of Appeal.
“All prisoners are very vulnerable in the custody of Corrections, and rely on the oversight of the civil courts to ensure that their rights under the law are upheld, in particular their rights under the Nelson Mandela rules and the Treaty of Waitangi,” Mason said.
“Mr Thacker has always been clear in his instructions that this case is not solely about him but about his brothers within the Corrections system who are also susceptible to inhumane treatment.”
Prison facilities are also subject to the oversight of the Office of the Inspectorate which this week formally visited the PERU for the first time since it was established in 2019.
The prison watchdog spent four days at the unit and is expected to publish a report on conditions at PERU at later date, but has already squarely addressed the controversial issue of directed segregation in a recent audit.
While solitary confinement - defined as more than 22 hours a day without meaningful human interaction - is a legitimate tool of prison management, Chief Inspector Janis Adair found that prison authorities must do more to mitigate the profound extent of isolation experienced by these prisoners.
Around 29 per cent of the prison population (or 5655 inmates) had spent time in jail separated from social interactions in a 12-month period leading up to September 2021.
Most spent less than 15 days in segregation, although some rare cases - like Thacker - inmates had spent more than one year alone.
Such isolation can lead to damaging psychological and physical effects such as lethargy, impaired concentration, depression, anxiety, panic attacks, anger and irritability, perceptual distortion, and paranoia.
Adair made 59 recommendations for Corrections to improve on, including poor record-keeping and data collection, inadequate levels of clinical involvement in segregation decisions, and to introduce a robust assurance framework for at-risk prisoners.
“The consequences of these factors ultimately lead to my lack of confidence in the current system,” Adair said.
“This is not a challenge unique to New Zealand and segregation is, and ought properly to be, a concern for jurisdictions across the world.”
The Prisoners of Extreme Risk Unit (PERU) is a tightly controlled and separately managed unit within Auckland Prison at Paremoremo, New Zealand’s maximum security jail, for the country’s most dangerous inmates.
It is not just reserved for physically violent and volatile inmates, such as Siuaki Lisiate.
One of the unit’s early guests, Lisiate has killed two people inside Auckland Prison at Paremoremo and is known behind bars as JFK or “Just F****** Krazy”.
An internal Corrections document obtained under the Official Information Act outlining the unit’s operating model said staff consider three dimensions when assessing whether an inmate is high risk enough to be sent to PERU.
They are the prisoner’s risk of harm to others, their risk of harm from others and their capacity to influence other inmates
“For the most part this is due to the ongoing risk of serious violence that they present, which requires additional management safeguards; however, this could also be due to their capability to influence others to engage in serious violence or threats,” the operating model says.
“Whilst these risks include violent extremism, this is not always the case. For example, additional measures may be required to safely manage individuals who are connected to sophisticated organised criminal networks, with the capability to seriously threaten the safety and security of a prison and the wider community.”
The document suggested prisoners at high risk of violence from others at Paremoremo can also be considered for PERU.
“For example, those who have provided witness testimony against organised criminal organisations.”
Everyone in PERU has their own management plan and, if deemed suitable, they are still able to associate with others.
But they are kept to their cells wherever possible.
Each cell in PERU has its own attached exercise yard to provide their minimum entitlement to one hour of exercise in the fresh air, the document says.
The unit also has its own “dedicated activities officer, who, for certain long-term inmates deemed suitable, may be provided the chance to engage in certain activities, such as preparing a meal or playing chess.
“For some long‐term prisoners these activities may focus on supporting them to maintain life skills such as preparing a simple meal,” the document says.
“In addition, the Activities Officer will provide social contact by engaging in activities such as Chess, in a non‐contact environment.”
Most prisoners will in PERU have free access to in-cell television and radio, including news media.
But for some individuals “this access will be carefully restricted in order to manage risks to themselves or others,” the operating model says. It is understood the Christchurch mosque terrorist Brenton Tarrant’s access to news media is heavily curtailed.
Jared Savage is an award-winning journalist who covers crime and justice issues, with a particular interest in organised crime. He joined the Herald in 2006, and is the author of Gangland.
George Block is an Auckland-based reporter with a focus on police, the courts, prisons and defence. He joined the Herald in 2022 and has previously worked at Stuff in Auckland and the Otago Daily Times in Dunedin.
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