Kiwis Test Waist Restraints in Wake of Prisoner Murder

WELLINGTON, New Zealand — The Department of Corrections is testing new prisoner restraint systems to improve transport security after the murder of a 17-year-old prisoner.

Several types of restraints are currently being tested on both inmates and staff at facilities near the cities of Auckland, Christchurch and Wellington, as officials assess requirements and performance. Officials are also in the process of developing new policy guidelines on who will be restrained, how restraints should be applied, and other operational and logistical issues.

At an estimated cost of more than $2 million, the department plans to use the new restraints throughout the correctional system by the end of the year.

Officials are also assessing prisoner transportation procedures following recommendations contained in a recent report by the Office of the Ombudsman, which found that the majority of prisoner transports in the New Zealand correctional system involved inhumane treatment or conditions.

Waist restraints were identified as an effective system that meets departmental requirements for safety and security, regulations for humane treatment and conditions established in New Zealand law, and the minimum standards for the treatment of prisoners prescribed by the United Nations, officials say.

The department of corrections began testing new restraint systems amid growing criticism of prisoner-transport security after the murder of a 17-year-old prisoner by a fellow detainee. The inmate strangled the youth and stomped on his head as the prison bus was transporting prisoners to Auckland’s Central Remand Prison at Mt. Eden.