Tide of inmates puts pressure on cells again

A political row has erupted over the the use of court and police cells for inmates unable to find beds in crowded prisons.

National Party law and order spokesman Tony Ryall said more prisoner compensation claims were likely from the "second prison muster crisis in 12 months".

The Corrections Association, the union representing more than 2000 prison officers, agreed, and warned of rising tension in prisons from overcrowding and overworked staff.

Mr Ryall released figures showing inmates spent 5629 nights in court and police cells in May, compared to 5969 last September and 5043 last October.

Corrections Minister Paul Swain last night insisted the problem was only short term and would ease from October as inmates were released for Christmas and new prison cells became available.

Mr Swain accused Mr Ryall of distorting the situation, pointing out that the number of bed nights last month equated to an average 181 inmates a night sleeping in such cells nationwide.

Union president Beven Hanlon said he was not surprised by the latest figures, and pointed out a record number of people were in custody over the last two to three weeks.

"Whether it's police cells, court cells and prisons, we have never had so many people incarcerated in New Zealand and we just don't have the facilities to cope."

The prison service was even flying staff to work in Auckland court cells from as far as Christchurch.

Last week, the union filed a case in the Employment Relations Authority over departmental attempts to transfer more inmates to Mt Eden from Manukau district and Auckland high court cells during the day because the courts lacked showers and exercise areas.

The union alleges that breaches its collective agreement on muster numbers, which specifies no more than 421 inmates at Mt Eden.

"There are 421 cells but they are trying to make 440-odd cells," Mr Hanlon said.

Mr Swain said the dispute came down to a "technical issue". But he acknowledged that things were "tight" in the system.

However, he was confident of improvement as construction continued. By 2007 about 2100 new beds would be available.

Mr Swain said the increased inmate numbers had occurred as more people were sentenced to prison terms and more short prison terms were being imposed.


Nights spent by inmates in court and police cells:

Oct 2004 5043
May 2005 5629