New safety restraints including a spitting hood and leg restraints have been introduced by police in an effort to protect officers from harm and prisoners from self-harm.
Police had expressed concern over difficulties in restraining people who were extremely affected by alcohol and drugs to prevent them from hurting themselves, police magazine Ten-One reported.
Prisoners would sometimes strike their heads against walls and doors and police were forced to improvise ways to keep them safe.
A two-year safety review of 8000 cases found for example nearly 10% of offenders had spat at officers but police had limited tools to deal with this.
The magazine reported that in addition to the review, police in Christchurch and Dunedin have been trialling a restraint for beds as well as leg restraints in vehicles.
Human rights groups such as Amnesty International and the Howard League for Penal reform were consulted as part of the review.
"Both organisations noted the difficulties police faced and that the policy was a pragmatic solution to manage difficult prisoners who were focussed on harming themselves and others."
Key changes to police safety measures: * a restraint board has been provided to 27 key overnight holding facilities to deal with high level cases of violence and self-harm;
* spitting hoods and leg restraints in vehicles have been approved;
* a new plastic wrist restraint has been approved;
* staff can now consider a wider range of factors in deciding when to use restraints;
* a focus on considering restraining a prisoner when being transported to reduce the risk of interfering with the driver or escaping from a moving vehicle; and
* the continued use of restraints in a cell block to reduce the risk to staff and possibility of escape.
In April 2008 the Corrections Department introduced waist restraints for prisoners during transport in a move designed to cut back on assaults and escapes. The department started testing waist restraints in 2007, following criticism of transport security after the murder of 17-year-old Liam Ashley in August 2006. Liam's killer, George Charlie Baker, strangled him and stomped on his head in a van taking them to Auckland Central Remand Prison at Mt Eden. The death prompted a damning Ombudsmen's report into prisoner transport.
