Furious prison guards considered no confidence vote for Corrections Minister Kelvin Davis
A Corrections Association NZ newsletter to members obtained by 1 NEWS said the union had repeatedly raised concerns about rising violence against Corrections staff in prisons and been “ignored”.
“Despite CANZ providing constant and consistent feedback to National Office and the minister highlighting the reality of life inside prisons and violence facing staff, nothing is ever done,” it read.
“We contacted the minister, pointing out that staff across the country are so incensed by what they see as him supporting and advocating for prisoners, while ignoring staff, and staff have had enough.
“There is even a growing call for a vote of no confidence in the minister.”
The grotesquely incompetent and corrupt Corrections Department must attack and denigrate Kelvin Davis as quickly as possible before the reports into their obscene handling of the Waikeria Prison riots come to light.
Corrections are easily the most corrupt and violent of the Government Departments but their abuse is usually covered up and the mainstream media has always been relied upon to whip up prisoner hate so that the is a sense that the prisoners deserve a bashing, but post Black Lives Matter, the issue of the State abusing people of colour has turned that public opinion on its head.
The last second reflection on the jaw dropping cruelty of Corrections in this cell gassing situation at Auckland Women’s Prison is a real indication that Corrections realise they are in trouble here.
Corrections claims to date that everything that was done at Auckland Region Women’s Corrections Facility was best practice behaviour has become increasingly unbelievable as more and more examples of what was going on began to surface!
Th ritualistic nature of the abuse by the guards seemed to border on sexual fetish, and the decision to lock one of the prisoners in a cell their partner attempted suicide should bring shame on us all.
Corrections are now faced with a media who won’t oblige their abuse and a Government who won’t tolerate it, so attacking the hapless Kelvin, (who to date has bewilderingly swallowed everything Corrections has told him), is urgently required for them to try and gloss over what is about to come out.
The Waikeria Prison riot report will find Corrections struggled far more than they were admitting due to Covid staffing issues and that rather than be upfront about that, allowed conditions to deteriorate to a riot situation and that once that situation took effect, they did everything in their power to goad the Police into shooting the prisoners.
To be fair, Corrections are only playing th hand thy had bn salt. The decision to only allow rehabilitation to prisoners who admit their guilt has created a counter productive nightmare where prisoners serve their full sentence locked up 20 hours a day for years and years until they explode on release…
Convicted murderer Scott Watson denied parole for third time
Convicted murderer Scott Watson says he is not as arrogant as he used to be, but the Parole Board has ruled his failure to complete treatment means he’ll stay behind bars.
…and the brutally punitive manner in which Corrections restore order…
Pepper spray used against inmates nearly 900 times last year
The numbers of assaults reported in prisons has also been increasing.
In the 2016 financial year, there were just six recorded uses of pepper spray.
Last year, guards displayed their cans of the inflammatory agent – and prepared to incapacitate an inmate – nearly 900 times.
…on top of the last BIM report that warns of extremism inside prisons because of the lack of rehabilitation…
Briefings to ministers: Government releases advice to new ministers
Corrections has alerted Minister Kelvin Davis to a rise in signs of extremism amongst offenders.
The department has provided a briefing as Davis heads into his second term in the role.
It says there’s been an increase in the number of people it manages, who potentially hold extremist views – or display risk factors specific to radicalisation or violent extremism.
It’s established a Prisoners of Extreme Risk Directorate and made violent extremism a priority for Corrections Intelligence.
Corrections says it recognises that extra measures are needed to safely manage those who present an ongoing risk of harm – and the potential to influence others to engage in serious violence.
The department says of the nine thousand people in prison, 91 per cent have been diagnosed with substance abuse or a mental health disorder at some point in their lives.
More than half of inmates – or 4730 – identify as Māori.
Thirty-five per cent are affiliated with a gang, and 36 per cent are on remand.
…so a violent, underfunded punitive and counter productive prison industrial complex should expect rioting.
There is a dark abscess in the heart of Kiwis who sadistically derive excitement from not only a prisoner being punished by their loss of liberty, but who love that the prisoners suffer as well.
Kiwis have a fetish to see prisoners demeaned, broken and made to suffer, in such an environment, those prisoners will fight back.
Kelvin will be the sacrificial lamb for the failings of an entire system.
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I think it should be the other way around, ‘Kelvin Davis attacks Corrections’. It is not easy to implement changes when you have to deal with public servants we saw this with the Oranga tamarikis’ CEO, Grannine Moss they had to offer her another lucrative state job. Also there are many layers of protection, for starters workers rights with policies and procedures that have to be adhered to. But also as many Public servants have been allowed to have a free reign for too long and initially the majority of these workers were mostly Pakeha as they were the ones who mostly got these jobs not Maori or PI. So its not surprising the Public systems have not served Maori or PI well when they have been under represented particularly if we look at who sits at the top of these roles.
Regarding Scott Watson and other people refused parole;
‘he was expected to confess to the murders and explain the crime, and if he did not do this he could not participate in rehabilitation programmes.’
Peter Ellis too could not receive parole because he would not confess to sexual abusing small children. He therefore had to serve his whole term. There are other examples.
I wonder why Scott Watson will not confess to murders when no bodies were found and eyewitnesses could not agree to which boats they saw that night?
Years ago I remember talking to a policeman about the Arthur Allan Thomas trial and imprisonment.
‘We reckon he killed Jeanette and Harvey Crewe,’ he said.
Fair enough
Lock the bastard up because otherwise we might have to admit to a fuckup.
I think it should be the other way around, ‘Kelvin Davis attacks Corrections’. It is not easy to implement changes when you have to deal with public servants we saw this with the Oranga tamarikis’ CEO, Grannine Moss they had to offer her another lucrative state job. Also there are many layers of protection, for starters workers rights with policies and procedures that have to be adhered to. But also as many Public servants have been allowed to have a free reign for too long and initially the majority of these workers were mostly Pakeha as they were the ones who mostly got these jobs not Maori or PI. So its not surprising the Public systems have not served Maori or PI well when they have been under represented particularly if we look at who sits at the top of these roles.
If prison numbers drop yet attacks on inmates rise then there is a real problem. Davis is on >$300k p.a. and is a ‘senior’ MP therefore is obligated to fix this problem. Doing nothing but speaking in riddles will only make the problem worse downstream.
I’d argue for a royal commission yet even these nowadays are horribly mired in politics and a pre-determined result would be prescribed. When do worksafe step in? Clearly there are workplace incidents aplenty?
I don’t know the answer as i’m not an expert although it doesn’t take an expert to know there is a ticking time bomb here and the government is trying to sweep everything under the carpet. This will explode in their faces over the next 18 months in a way that even the feckless ones can’t ignore.
Labour has to face up to the decision of cancelling the planned new prison.
What sort of bizarre, inverted logic is it cancelling prison construction in the hope that it will reduce prison numbers? Instead how’s about addressing the causes of criminality that in time will result in reduced offending rates and only THEN reduce prison capacity.
Now we have:
> Judges sentencing serious, violent offences to Home D because there’s no space in the prisons
> A police commissioner who is soft on crime
> Soaring violent crime rates.
> Demotivated police and warders
What a muddled mess you write Andrew, so if labour have as policy to reduce crime at it source they can stop building prisons. Well bugger me what is this government doing again
https://www.labour.org.nz/release-law-and-order-reform-focused-on-wellbeing
As for the police commissioner being soft on crime, your really running close to slander and the slimy hit job dirty politics of simon bridges, with his fork tongue double word speak on that one.
Soaring crime rates – I call bullshit
https://www.police.govt.nz/sites/default/files/publications/crime-at-a-glance-dec2020.pdf
As for demotivated plods and screws – if the screws had some sort of human decency they would have pointed out where the system was failing rather than live out there Percy Wetmore/Capt. Byron Hadley fantasies.
You missed an antiquated past it’s use by date Misuse of Drugs Act, Andrew, that requires judges to be excessively punitive on drug offenders whose use is personal with no commerciality or victims. No rehab available provided by the state unless it’s for meth. And the majority of rehab programs go unrecognized by our court system. Fortunately Andrew Little did broaden the personal use category so it at least it gets recognized. BUT the majority of petty personal use drug crimes still clutter our Justice system fuck up people’s lives and do nothing to improve our society by going thru the courts.The defence lawyers are like sharks who feed off this situation and the police use it to make themselves look like their actually doing something intelligent and useful to solve drug crime. If you don’t understand the level of complete incompetence our Justice system is drowning in you understand nothing about present day NZ.
Kelvin Davis has hardly shone in any of the ministries he has had control of. To be fair this is a hard task for anybody. He needs to show empathy for the Maori prisoners and support for the staff as well.
Double bunking cannot help in how the prisoners reform and easing the tension . Imaging knowing that you were going to share a small space with someone you cannot stand for the next few years.
FFS Prisons are not supposed to be a CLUB MED. We need to break the cycle at an early age – focus on education of our tamariki around the 10-11 years age as they still seem to be on par with their main stream friends. Sadly after that age the tamariki seem to go off at a tangent and I’m afraid thats the start of their journey to crime. Some whanau role models/teachers need to spend more time with the tamariki to motivate and help them. We have to keep our tamariki and moko out of gangs and prisons.
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