Drugs used to ‘pacify jail inmates'

Press, 9 November 1988, Page 1

Drugs used to ‘pacify jail inmates'

By

SUZANNE KEEN

Many inmates leave New Zealand prisons with a “raging dependency” on prescription drugs, according to the Group Employment Liaison Service. In its submission to the Ministerial Committee of Inquiry into the prison system yesterday, G.E.L.S. said that prescription drugs were too often dispensed to prisoners for “ease of management.” It thought there should be some distinction between genuine medical treatment for the health of the imprisoned patient and medication given to pacify the inmate. The service recommended that attention be given to the use of alternative treatment such as homeopathic medicine, massage or meditation in prisons. The submission’s co-ordinator, Mr Harry Tam, said that G.E.L.S. had concluded there had been a breakdown in the prison system. He said that many problems arose because the law did not take into consideration the grievances of offenders. “G.E.L.S. believes that many of the people who have served and are continuing to serve terms of imprisonment are innocent ... There are hundreds and possibly thousands who have to serve terms of imprisonment for no other reason than the fact that they are poor or lack the knowhow and the resources to wade

through the legal system.” Mr Tam said it was important to differentiate between “criminals,” who planned and conspired to commit offences and “offenders” who were merely opportunists. Most people in prisons were offenders. One of the major concerns of G.E.L.S. was that prisons had become a dumping ground for gang members, its submission said. It recommended the reintroduction of the contract work scheme as a way of reducing gang membership. This would help halt the flow of gang members into prison and lead to more effective gang inmate management. Mr Tam said that a Maori perspective needed to be incorporated into the penal system. “Often a Maori perspective becomes misinterpreted as the mere employment of Maori staff or the use of kia ora.” The submission supported 24hour access of Maori elders to prisons. It also recommended that more emphasis be put on education, where possible away from the confines of the prison environment, and work be provided for prisoners in the community. The Committee of Inquiry, chaired by Sir Clinton Roper, was reconvened yesterday especially to hear the late submission by G.E.L.S.