Here is a perfect example of how Corrections Dept deliberately misleads the public.
On 30 October 2018 , there was an unexplained lockdown at Waikeria Prison from 10 am to 1 pm . Inmates lost 3 hours out of cell time to which they were entitled . Courses and family phone calls were missed , Arthur couldn’t prepare urgent Court documents on the computer.
In an OIA response to a supporter , on 16 November , Corrections told them “..we are unable to release further information about the incident …. as doing so would compromise the safety of individuals or the safety of prisons”.
I then told my supporter I heard the lockdown was because the radio system stopped working & the supporter put this to Corrections.
Realising the jig was up , on 23 November Corrections admitted “..the lockdown was the result of a radio outage”.
So, their automatic fallback in the first letter implying inmate misbehaviour was untrue .The public knowing the prison radio system malfunctioned did NOT “compromise the safety of individuals or the security of prisons ” (unless they mean officers’ job security). Quite the reverse, safety and security are compromised by the public not knowing what really happened at Waikeria on 30 October.
Arthur Taylor is TDBs Prisoner Rights Blogger currently blogging inside prison – Corrections have currently cut his access to outside communication after he outed a Corrections Officer for bullying. As soon as TDB has the name, we will publish it.
