P.S.A. warning on prison security

Press, 13 April 1978, Page 7

P.S.A. warning on prison security

PA Wellington Unless action was taken soon, prison officers would no longer be able to consider themselves responsible for security in the nation’s prisons, said the Public Service Association in submissions to the Parliamentary Select Committee on Violent Offending. The P.S.A.. representing i 1100 prison officers, said that i while the problems of vio-i lence in penal institutions were “only too apparent.” | the authorities and the Gov-| eminent had failed actively i to seek solutions which j would last. “There are few short-term solutions.” rhe P.S.A. said. “The solutions will cost money, and in some cases sizeable amounts, but the Government must recognise that as an employer it has a ’ grave responsibilitv for the! health and welfare of the. officers of the penal service.” i The P.S.A. said a sixth of all inmates were in prisonj as a result of offences! against other persons, and so ■ the highest concentration of i potential violent offending I existed within the “closed; world" of prisons. The prison officer was] much more exposed to the! threat of injury through vio- 1

i'lence than any other person in. the community, it said. The P.S.A. told the committee that the incidence of ~ violence in prisons was 92 times higher than in the out’side community, in 1977, assaults on officers were at ’J a rate of 52.12 per 1000 officers and assaults on in- ’ mates were at a rate of 86.42 per 1000 inmates, these i figures comparing with the 11975 figure of 1.44 violent 'offences per 1000 of population in the community. ! “The P.S.A. said one of the 'major causes of violence in , prisons was overcrowding. ! Some prisons designed for : 25 or 26 inmates were holdI ing 60 or more, and it was normal for two men to be ■ held in single cells and some- ' times as many as six to be i held in double ceils. ' “There is no doubt in the : minds of prison officers that I one of the major factors leading to the high rate of vio-j (lent crimes within institutions is the ‘sardine-canning’ iof inmates who have already! | shown their inability to cope| ! with frustration and every-' day problems.” There was no hard evi-j ! dence on the effects of vio-| I lent offending on prison offi-j jeers, although a study was! 'planned, but the P.S.A. said!

that officers under the continual threat of violence grew to expect it and consequently were more reserved in their relationships with inmates, j Many officers also worked long periods of overtime to keep the institutions functioning at a level which provided minimum security for officers. “In the 1976-77 year, prison officers worked almost 94.000 hours of overtime on extended shifts or call-back. Staff ceilings, which are below establishment levels, have necessitated many officers to be required to work six and seven days a week,” said the P.S.A. The amount of sick leave taken by officers had increased by 44 per cent since 1973. The P.S.A. proposals included better pay rates to increase staff recruitment and staffing, better designed and smaller prisons, increased i psychological services for in-! 'mates, and an examination! lof 'sentences and sentencingl policy to reduce the num-1 bers being sent to prison. The National Council of Women, in its submission.! suggested that if the! “aggressive male” image was! over-emphasised by parents it could be a contributing j factor to later offending. ! “If parents abdicate theirj responsibilities, the child cannot be expected to absorb unaided such civilising traits! as self-discipline and toler-i ance in their education,” said j the National Council.