Prison abolitionist group No Pride in Prisons held a march to the Mount Eden Corrections Facility today to protest the prison population reaching 10,000 people.
Hundreds of protesters made themselves heard throughout the Auckland CBD as they marched from Aotea Square to Mt Eden Prison, demanding an end to mass incarceration. The march ended with speakers, including Marama Davidson MP and speeches written by people currently in prison. They were followed by live music played for both marchers and prisoners.
Spokeswoman for the group Emilie Rākete says, “Prisons don’t do what they say they do. Corrections says that prisons rehabilitate people, but the reality is that prisons are violent.”
“The government is wasting money locking 10,000 people away while inequality worsens.”
The group is demanding two changes: the repeal of the Bail Amendment Act 2013, which it says has lead to an increase in prisoners being held without conviction, and a halt to the construction of a new facility at Waikeria prison.
“After harsh bail restrictions were passed in 2013, the population of prisoners on remand has ballooned. Most people on remand have not been found guilty of anything and may never be found guilty. Rather than deal caringly and intelligently with people who have been accused of social harm, the government has chosen to cram them into overcrowded, violent, unsafe environments.”
“The new prison facility at Waikeria is being built because Corrections can’t cope with this massive influx of prisoners. The obvious solution is to repeal the Bail Amendment Act and cancel the construction of the prison.”
“We marched today to put pressure on the government to act,” Rākete continues.
“The enormous human and financial waste that is our prison system cannot continue.”
