Riot in Christchurch Prison Quelled

According to the officers’ union, prison officers were able to prevent a riot in Christchurch Men’s Prison, after five prisoners targeted two guards on duty.

The union went on the say that the incident highlights the fact that officers need to have better access to self defense products, such as pepper spray to defend themselves, as well as dogs.

The president of Corrections Association NZ explained that a prisoner attacked a prison guard while the prisoner was being moved to a high security unit. As a result, another officer intervened to aid the staff member, but was attacked by an additional four prisoners.

Once the alarm was raised, 30 staff responded to rescue the two officers as they restrained the five inmates involved. The only tools they employed as a result were their bare hands, as this was all that was available to them.

Around 58 of the other prisoners at first refused to return to their cells, while some attempted to produce a make shift weapon by employing a unit chair; however this was quickly prevented.

This situation highlighted how a quiet day can quickly turn into a violent one in prisons. As a result of this, prison officers require better protection, for example employing pepper spray, or dogs. When it comes to front-line officers, they have the necessary protection required, which should also be applied to prison guards too.

Even though staff were capable of talking the prisoners into returning to their cells shows their negotiation skills, but the incident itself would have been dealt with much quicker if access to self defense devices had been possible.

When it comes to staff safety in prisons, that is a main concern for the department, in addition to the Staff Safety Project. The introduction of safety equipment such as stab proof vests or stab-resistant body amour, batons and spit hoods, show that safety is key. And because of the need for prison guards to be protected by pepper spray, the Corrections Association will be beginning a 12-month trial of the product soon.

The introduction of the spray canister will ultimately provide better protection to the prison guards, and will permit them to quell riots with more effectiveness.