[Missing Credit][object Object] While many aspects of the Otago Corrections Facility’s operation are praised in the report from the Office of the Inspectorate released this week, there is much which needs addressing. The Inspectorate, which provides oversight of prisons around the country, is part of the Department of Corrections but operationally independent. In her report of the inspectorate’s announced visit last year, chief inspector Janis Adair said staff across many levels and disciplines referred to the leadership team as a ‘’boys club’’. Concerns were raised about bullying, inappropriate and misogynistic comments from managers and staff, and offensive sexual remarks from prisoners reportedly ignored or going unchallenged by custodial staff. It seems work is under way to address this but it raises questions about the culture which fostered this in the first place. The response to the report from Corrections on this issue has a begrudging whiff about it and the risk of trying to downplay the issue, with a reference to recognising that concerns raised ‘’ regardless of how widely held, must be taken seriously’’. That seems to ignore the fact the inspectorate was clear the concerns raised about the leadership team covered many levels and disciplines. OTAGO DAILY TIMESOtago Corrections Facility at Milton. Photo: Stephen Jaquiery One of the first points made by Ms Adair is that compared with many other prisons across the country the facility was offering a wide range of activities including education, employment, rehabilitation and reintegration, delivered by staff and volunteers. That is promising, but it could be argued the bar has not been set particularly high for this in any part of the country. The report draws attention to the fact that at the time of the inspection, 206 of the 527 prisoners did not have an allocated case manager, someone who assesses their needs and works with them to create a plan for rehabilitation and education. Corrections leaders told the Inspectorate the team was not resourced to meet the size of the prison. Work is under way to recruit more staff but it is not clear this will be sufficient. It is hard to see how education and rehabilitation opportunities can be offered appropriately and effectively to individual prisoners without proper case management. The report praises the facility’s health team, describing it as an example of a collaborative and passionate team, but later goes on to detail how difficult it can be for inmates to get timely health care, a problem not confined to prisons. Haphazard recording of triage scores on health request forms meant the inspectorate could not work out whether the response to the clinical need was appropriate or not. Access to dental care was poor, and in one case a prisoner who eventually presented with facial swelling had waited 205 days for treatment after making multiple requests for it. There were also concerns about the access to mental health services, and while the prison is trying to address this, it is an issue nationally. When the Inspectorate looked at use of force incidents, it found in most cases force was necessary, reasonable and proportionate and stopped at the earliest opportunity. (Those that it considered did not meet this criteria were referred for extra review.) However, there were gaps in the documentation around these events, body worn cameras were not always activated, and reviews did not always identify this or the instances of pepper spray deployment. No information was recorded about prisoners being offered support after use of force. Poor record keeping has previously been highlighted by the Ombudsman. It was good to see Corrections has moved to prioritise the use of body scanners where possible and limit strip searches, in a more ‘’ consistent dignity-focused approach’’, after the Inspectorate was critical of the number of strip searches being carried out. All the same, we wonder why it takes an Inspectorate visit to bring this about. Positive practice noted by Ms Adair included the leadership team having a clear and focused strategic plan, and responsive and helpful custodial staff. The prison was extremely clean and well-maintained with low levels of graffiti. Otago Corrections Facility has developed an action plan to address the findings and we look forward to a follow-up report on this from the inspectorate.
