‘Prisons can be volatile’: Rise in number of assaults at Whanganui Prison

The number of serious assaults has remained low in Whanganui Prison over the past eight financial years - with two serious assaults occurring in the 2023/24 year.

The number of prisoner-on-prisoner assaults has risen this year at Whanganui Prison, with Corrections pointing to a rise in the prison population, increasing gang affiliations and prisoners on remand as potential causative factors.

A Department of Corrections spokesperson said there had been a small increase in prisoner-on-prisoner assaults - 59 in the 2023/24 financial year compared with 46 in 2022/23.

It is is the second-highest number of assaults there has been in the past eight years - the highest was 60 in 2019/20.

There are 530 prisoners in Whanganui Prison, up from 436 in April 2023.

“Prisons can be volatile environments,” Department of Corrections acting commissioner of custodial services Neil Beales said.

“The reality is the threat of violence is something we cannot eliminate entirely, but we are committed to doing everything possible to minimise this risk and provide the safest environment possible for staff and prisoners.”

Several highly complex factors contributed to violence in prison, he said.

Over 80% of the prison population have convictions for violence in their offending histories and more than 90% have a lifetime diagnosis of a mental health or substance abuse disorder.

He said around 39% of people in prison had a gang affiliation, which was a known predictor of violence.

“In recent years, there has been an increase in the proportion of the prisoner population who are gang-affiliated, which mirrors growth in gang membership in communities.

“Gang members are over-represented in acts of disorder and violence in prison. Gang members are also known to incite other people in prison to carry out violent acts on behalf of the gangs.”

Department of Corrections breaks assaults down into serious, non-serious and no-injury categories.

The number of serious assaults has remained low in Whanganui Prison over the past eight years - with two serious assaults occurring in the 2023/24 year.

The number of prisoner-on-prisoner assaults causing no injury increased from 18 in 2022/23 to 26 in 2023/24.

He said a growing proportion of the prisoner population was on remand, and there was a strong statistical association between remand status and incidents of assault within prison.

A prisoner on remand was recently convicted in Whanganui District Court of assaulting an inmate by pouring boiling water, salt and sugar over him.

Beales said they had invested in training and tools including de-escalation techniques, interpersonal and tactical communication skills, stab-resistant vests, body-worn cameras and pepper spray.

“Prisons also regularly review assault incidents to determine whether similar occurrences can be prevented in future, and lessons learned are relayed to staff.”

Corrections had also worked with Corrections Association of New Zealand and the PSA to develop the Violence and Aggression Joint Action Plan, and all prison sites, including Whanganui Prison, now had individual site safety plans to address violence and aggression.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.