Prisoners at Spring Hill Prison being kept in 22-hour lockdown ‘illegally’

An entire unit at Spring Hill Corrections Facility has been on 22-hour lockdown for months now, according to information received by the prisoner advocacy organisation No Pride in Prisons.

“Whānau of prisoners contacted us with concerns about the treatment of their loved ones,” says No Pride in Prisons spokesperson Emilie Rākete. “All of the prisoners in one unit are being locked into their cells for 22 hours per day.”

“Apparently, this is happening because there are simply too many people in the unit to manage and Corrections cannot control violence in the unit. It is punishing everybody by putting them in 22-hour lockdown.”

The organisation says this is a breach of Corrections Regulations, which state that prisoners cannot be punished without being found guilty by a disciplinary hearing.

“Corrections has punished the entire unit without due process,” says Rākete. “People on 22-hour lockdown were never charged with anything, and weren’t given the right to defend themselves against the charges. They’re effectively receiving additional punishment and aren’t able to appeal, which is illegal.”

In a 2015 report, the Office of the Ombudsman found that youth prisoners at Mt Eden were being held in lockdown for 22-23 hours per day. The Ombudsman stated that “monotony, reduced environmental stimulation and social isolation can be extremely distressing and potentially fatal.”

“These lockdown schedules are dangerous. Isolating people for extended periods of time like this can put their mental and physical health at risk, which is why extended periods of isolation are considered by the United Nations to be torture.”

No Pride in Prisons spoke to the partner of one of the people in the unit concerned, who has decided to remain anonymous. “She told me she is extremely worried about her partner. She sees the effect of the lockdown on his mental health and is angry at Spring Hill for putting him through this,” says Rākete.

According to Rākete, the lockdown is especially dangerous because of the overcrowding crisis in New Zealand prisons. “To address the overcrowding crisis, Corrections has expanded its policy of double-bunking, where two or more prisoners are housed in a single cell. Since then, violence in prisons has worsened. Double-bunking prisoners like this causes violence.”

The organisation says the 22-hour lockdown is made worse by double-bunking. “The lockdown has meant that prisoners are either spending the vast majority of their time in small cells with another person, or they are completely isolated.”

“Locking down this unit is not a solution to violence in the prison. It either increases the prevalence of violence between cellmates in double-bunked cells or puts people’s mental health at risk by almost entirely isolating them from others. This is a form of unlawful, dangerous, and dehumanising treatment. ”

In 2016, members of No Pride in Prisons occupied the Corrections Central Regional Office to demand a transgender prisoner be removed from an isolation unit at Spring Hill. According to Rākete, “This 22-hour lockdown is only the most recent example of Spring Hill management’s disregard for prisoner well-being.“

“We are calling on Corrections to immediately end the 22-hour lockdown of this unit at Spring Hill. If Corrections fails to act, we will.”

ENDS

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