Teenage prisoner separation part of 2004 deal

All teenage inmates were meant to be kept separate from adults under the terms of a 2004 government contract revealed yesterday as fallout from the prison van murder of Liam Ashley intensified.

The contract between security firm Chubb and the Department of Corrections said those under 20 were to be divided from adults - a higher safety margin than the law and Corrections regulations, which set the benchmark at 18, where practicable.

Liam, 17, was attacked last Thursday while being driven from the North Shore District Court to the Auckland Central Remand Prison. He died the next day.

A man appeared in court yesterday charged with his murder.

Corrections Minister Damien O'Connor has ordered that the "where practicable" proviso on keeping prisoners under 18 separate from adults be dropped until the outcome of inquiries into the killing are known.

However, the Corrections Department's 2004 contract with Chubb lists several types of prisoners who must be kept separate (including all those aged under 20) unless agreed with the department.

The contract is understood to have been recently renewed, but it was unclear last night whether the 2004 clause relating to young offenders remained.

Corrections said yesterday that the status of the contract formed part of the investigation, so it could not comment.

A spokesman said the department had investigated claims of a separate assault in a van being used to transport prisoners but found no evidence to support the allegations. "Apart from the attack on Liam Ashley we are unaware of any incident."

In Parliament yesterday, National Party law and order spokesman Simon Power asked Mr O'Connor whether the Corrections Department had been at fault and had allowed the mixing of young and older inmates.

Mr O'Connor said that would be subject to investigation, as would the contract between the department and Chubb.

Chubb has had a contract to transport prisoners for about eight years.

"Since 1998 ... there have been 220,000 transfers," Mr O'Connor said. "Of those, 7600 were youth, and thankfully we've not had a terrible tragedy like this before. That is why we're investigating this thoroughly."