Subj : Prisoner, officers take refuge in van after shots fired
To   : All
From : News
Date : Fri Apr 12 2024 11:33 am

Corrections officers barricaded themselves and a prisoner inside a van after
its tyres were slashed and shots fired at a tangi in Waikato.


A minimum security prisoner had been given permission to attend a family
member's funeral at a marae on Thursday afternoon, and was escorted there by
corrections officers from Waikeria Prison.


Police said most of those attending the tangi were gang members.


At about 12.45pm, a shotgun was fired into the air several times.


Waikeria Prison general manager Rosemary Firth said the guards immediately
returned to the escort vehicle, only to find its tyres had been slashed. They
locked themselves inside and called for help.


"The tyres of the prisoner escort vehicle had been damaged, so they secured
themselves and the prisoner inside the vehicle while additional staff and
vehicles from the prison were immediately dispatched to the area. All staff
and the prisoner safely returned to the site without further incident."


The Corrections officers involved had shown "exceptional courage", Firth said.


"Our staff did an excellent job responding to a incredibly challenging
situation and I would like to acknowledge them for their professionalism and
bravery. They moved swiftly to secure the prisoner to ensure no risk to
public safety and their actions ensured the safety of the prisoner and their
colleagues," she said.


"Threats and intimidation towards our staff are unacceptable, especially when
they're trying to do the right thing by allowing a prisoner to mourn the loss
of a loved one."


The police said a shotgun shell was found near the Department of Corrections'
van, and inquiries were being made to identify and find the person who pulled
the trigger.


Waikeria Prison was currently undergoing a large redevelopment project, which
has been pushed back several times. It was where New Zealand's biggest prison
riot happened over the 2020/2021 New Year period, when 17 inmates burned a
high-security unit to the ground, in protest over "inhumane" conditions.


Call for 'rethink' on gang tangi visits
Corrections Association national president Floyd du Plessis said everything
seemed "clear at first" when officers arrived, "but what did become evident
is there was a large gang presence".


He called it an "extremely traumatic situation for staff" but not unique.


"It is something that does happen, sadly. We deal with some pretty dangerous
individuals out there in the community, and so there have been other examples
of exactly this situation happening where staff have gone to external escorts
and [found] large numbers of gang members and them having a negative reaction.


"Unfortunately, it's one of the problems that we face because there tends to
be a lot of criticism on us when we don't facilitate visits for things like
tangi. But people need to understand these things are dangerous, and when
you're going to a tangi where there's a large gang presence, things can go
wrong. And that is exactly what happened in this instance."


Du Plessis said protocol around letting prisoners attend tangi needed a
"rethink".


"The reality is that it used to be a lot stricter and there used to be a lot
more rules around gang presence. Unfortunately, that has softened over a
number of years, and so that is something that does need to be re-evaluated
and reconsidered for the safety of everyone - both staff, prisoners and the
public that are there."


He was not aware if the were any plans to tighten the rules for tangi where
gang\s might be involved.


"It is definitely something we'll be raising with the national commissioner
and having a discussion with him around what unfolded and what safety
procedures need to be put in place to prevent this happening again."


rnz.co.nz

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