Grievances listed
(Hew Zealand Press Association) AUCKLAND, March 21. A list of grievances and demands was handed to the Superintendent of Mount Eden Prison (Mr J. Hobson) just before the rioting began in the prison yesterday.
Mr Hobson said today that the list had been passed on to Justice Department officials in Wellington.
Printed in ballpoint pen on a single sheet of paper, they were: Two clean sheets each week, instead of one as at present. All inmates to be let out for evening recreation. Better remuneration for those prisoners for whom employment cannot be found inside the prison. A complaint about some prisoners being kept in condemned cells with no radios. A complaint about sanitary conditions within the prison. A complaint about what the prisoners called “poor quality food.” Overcrowding Commenting on the grievances, Mr Hobson said overcrowding in Mount Eden Prison meant that some prisoners had to be kept in cells which had not had wiring connected for radios since the 1965 riots and fires.
Overcrowding and insufficient staff to supervise the inmates meant that not all prisoners could be allowed out for recreation. He said that sanitary facilities within the prison had been designed for a much smaller number of prisoners Gross overcrowding, lack of staff and facilities and the very design of Mount Eden prison since the 1965 riots make disturbances in the institution a constant possibility. Prisoners outnumber prison officers by seven to one. At the time of the riot yesterday there were 375 prisoners.
According to Mr Hobson there is comfortable accommodation for only 210 prisoners. In a situation like the one yesterday, where a large number of prisoners mutinied there was not much prison officers could do, Mr Hobson said. “All we can do is to contain them,” he said. "If there had been only a few rioters, officers would have moved in and removed them. “But I just did not have the staff yesterday,” he said. "We would have needed 100 officers.” After the sacking of the prison in 1965, assurances were given that the difficulties would be resolved with the opening of the maximum security institution at Paremoremo. The new institution, it was said, would.take difficult, dangerous and recalcitrant and most long-term prisoners. Mount Eden Prison would substantially revert to a remand and medium-security
institution. In fact Mount Eden is now regarded as the most secure of the country’s mediumsecurity prisons. Partly for this reason, it receives a substantial proportion of prisoners who are not suited for maximum security conditions, nor for any less secure conditions. Not used Overcrowding is, in fact, more severe, since parts of both the east and north wings have not been used since the riots of 1965. These disused areas have no roof. Even in the main corridor of the administration offices, chinks of light can be seen through the tin roof erected after the earlier riots.
Some cells now occupied by prisoners were damaged in that disturbance, and are in use only because of the large number of prisoners. Recreation and sanitary facilities were designed only for about 200 prisoners. Many have to remain in their cells during recreation periods in the evening because neither the staff nor the equipment can cope with everyone. The number in the prison yesterday was the highest ever reached, beating the previous highest figure of 357 attained only a few weeks ago. There are only 54 prison officers to supervise.
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Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32561, 22 March 1971, Page 1
Word Count
571Grievances listed Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32561, 22 March 1971, Page 1
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