The increasing use of handcuffs on prisoners is being blamed on the remand population, which Corrections says is more violent than sentenced prisoners
Inmates are more likely to be handcuffed now than five years ago when the prison population was higher, according to figures from Corrections.
National Commissioner Leigh Marsh said despite the prison population decreasing, the proportion of those behind bars with a tendency to commit violence had increased. READ MORE: * Five years on remand: Justice system breaks its own record * UN calls out poor management of mental health care in NZ prisons
“Over 80 percent of the prison population have convictions for violence in their offending histories, and more than 90 percent have a lifetime diagnosis of a mental health or substance abuse disorder,” he said.
This year prisoners were eight times more likely to be handcuffed, outside of being in handcuffs for regular escorting reasons, than they were when figures were taken in 2010.
In 2010 handcuffs were used 183 times on a prisoner population of 8683 – just over two percent.
In 2013 Corrections made handcuffs more readily available to staff after a review found they were not being used enough to prevent violence.
Peak use was recorded in the year ended June 2021 when there were 1984 times handcuffs were used, to a population of 8364 – 24 percent.
In the year to June 2023 handcuffs were used 1461 times on a population of 8577. That's a 48 percent increase on the use of handcuffs in 2018, despite the prison population falling 18 percent over the same time.
Handcuffing made up the majority of mechanical restraints used in the statistics provided to Newsroom. Other restraints included head protectors and spit hoods. Tie-down beds have not been used since 2016.
‘People get pretty high stress because you don't know what your fate is going to be. If you don't know that for a long period of time, that's really unsettling’ – Armon Tamatea
“A growing proportion of the prisoner population are on remand, and there is a strong statistical association between remand status and incidents of assault within prison," Marsh said.
“In addition, a growing proportion of the prisoner population have histories of extensive methamphetamine use which is associated with significant and lasting impacts on mental and emotional functioning, including issues such as anger control.”
Latest figures to June this year show 44 percent of the prison population is made up of those on remand. This may be people who have yet to stand trial or go before court, and those awaiting a sentence.
A long-term insights briefing from the Ministry of Justice published last year noted any time someone was remanded in custody before conviction was “a cause for concern”.
“The presumption of innocence demands that there be good reason for remanding someone in custody. Remand in custody may be made when there is a risk the defendant will offend on bail, will not appear in court or may otherwise attempt to interfere with the process by intimidating a witness.”
Time served on remand counts against any sentence of imprisonment.
Clinical psychologist and Waikato University lecturer Armon Tamatea, who works in prisons, said remand was difficult.
“These are people straight from the streets going into prison. So you got people coming down off addictions and drugs, you got people having to adjust because of mental health issues and changes to that regime and you've got just regular, ordinary folk awaiting their day in court.
“So people get pretty high stress because you don't know what your fate is going to be. If you don't know that for a long period of time, that's really unsettling because you don't have even a modicum of control psychologically of your environment and so people get frustrated quickly on remand, if only for that reason.
“In mainstream prison, so post-sentence, you've got some stability … people can set up routines, they can set up expectations for future prospects. So there’s a degree of controllability.”
The remand population is a growing proportion of the total prison population because fewer people are being sentenced to prison time. (However, in some cases prisoners who would have been classified as "sentenced" had already served their time on remand.)
People are also staying on remand for longer.
‘When prisoners are locked down for an extended time, on a daily basis, that increases the tension... and that ramps up obviously by correlation, assaults’ – Floyd du Plessis
Corrections Association New Zealand president Floyd du Plessis said the increase in handcuffing figures was in response to increased assaults on staff, as well as better reporting of when restraints were used.
“We're averaging 1000 staff assaults per year, and most of those will have mechanical restraints used, and so that immediately correlates to that.
“We don't see it as excessive, given the number of prisoners we manage across the country, over a year, we don't see those numbers as very high.”
He said handcuffing was a safe way to de-escalate a violent situation.
“The use of mechanical restraints makes it safer and better for everyone, including the prisoner. Because at that point, there's no need to have hands on and be physically involved. So it's easier on the prisoners themselves, it's more humane, and that does make it safer.”
He agreed the remand population was a difficult space to work in, but staff shortages were also a factor in driving prisoner violence.
"You've got a situation where the prisons are dangerously understaffed at the moment. So that leads to more lockdown periods and that drives tension.
“So when prisoners are locked down for an extended time, on a daily basis, that increases the tension and increases tensions in the units and the prison, and that ramps up obviously, by correlation, assaults.”
A recent UN report from the Committee against Torture remained concerned about the high prevalence of restraints used in New Zealand prisons as well as inter-personal prisoner violence:
“It is further concerned about reported arbitrary practices, which disproportionately affect Māori and Pasifika inmates and inmates with intellectual or psychosocial disabilities, in particular the continued use of prolonged and indefinite solitary confinement, the use of spit hoods and pepper spray, including in confined spaces and on vulnerable prisoners, and the excessive use of various means of physical or chemical restraint, especially in units housing prisoners of extreme risk.”
An insights report from the Ministry of Justice published last year noted the remand population would likely make up half of the total prisoner population by the early 2030s.
The prison population peaked in 2018 and has been tracking down since then. It is predicted to start increasing again from next year but is forecast to remain lower than 2022 on a per capita basis.
