Photo: RNZ/Calvin Samuel
Corrections is reviewing a risk assessment tool used in deciding whether prisoners are suitable to share a cell, after two suspected murders in nine months.
An inmate was killed at Auckland's Mt Eden Corrections Facility on 27 June. A 32-year-old man has been charged with murder.
RNZ earlier revealed that both men, who were in a double-bunked cell, were known to mental health services. The victim had recently been in a mental health unit in Whangārei as part of a compulsory treatment order and was in custody after breaching bail, and the murder-accused had a history with mental health services.
The killing came nine months after Andrew Chan Chui died at the prison. A 23-year-old inmate, who shared a double-bunk cell with Chan Chui, has been charged with murdering him.
In response to a request by RNZ under the Official Information Act, Corrections custodial services commissioner Leigh Marsh said double-bunking had been a "long-standing practice" in the New Zealand prison system and was common practice internationally.
Corrections use the Shared Accommodation Cell Risk Assessment (SACRA) tool to review the compatibility of individuals before they are placed in a shared cell.
"The SACRA does not replace staff judgement but is an important additional tool to help inform their decision-making and minimise any potential risk," Marsh said.
The SACRA tool identifies key risk factors to consider before placing a person in a shared cell.
"The assessment captures a range of information about a person, including their age, security classification, offending history, history of imprisonment, gang affiliation, notable physical characteristics, mental health concerns and any other special needs."
Corrections uses the Shared Accommodation Cell Risk Assessment (SACRA) tool to review the compatibility of individuals before they are placed in a shared cell. Photo: 123RF
If a person was deemed not suitable to double bunk, a Not to Double Bunk (NTDB) alert was activated on their profile.
"The NTDB alert includes the reason/s why the person is not suitable for shared cell accommodation and a person assessed as not suitable to be double bunked will be placed in a single accommodation cell."
Marsh confirmed he requested a review of the SACRA process which was under way.
"The review is in its early stages, so we have limited information to provide at this stage.
"However, we can confirm that our Custodial, Pae Ora and Intel teams will be considering the questions asked to inform suitability, the process to determine compatibility, and the review processes relating to SACRA. This will help inform what improvements can be made to the SACRA process."
Corrections had also taken steps across all prison sites regarding shared cell risk assessments, including instructing that all assessments must be reviewed within 24 hours of completion to check whether any further or outstanding information had been received.
"This is because we often receive people from the courts late in the evening and information can sometimes be limited."
Figures released to RNZ reveal that the number of assaults occurring in a shared cell has increased from seven in 2022/23 to 34 in the 2024/2025 financial year. At the same time the prison population increased from 901 to 1318.
Marsh said in recent years Corrections had an increasing focus on ensuring that all incidents of assaults, regardless of whether they result in injury, were recorded.
Corrections had recently seen "significant growth" in the number of prisoners while also being required to manage "an increasingly challenging prisoner population".
He said there had been an increase in the proportion of the prison population who were gang affiliated and said gang members were "over-represented in acts of disorder and violence in prison".
"A growing proportion of the prisoner population are on remand, and there is a strong statistical association between remand status and incidents of assault within prison.
"In addition, a growing proportion of the prisoner population have histories of extensive methamphetamine use which is associated with significant and lasting impacts on mental and emotional functioning, including issues such as anger control."
Marsh said the reality was the threat of violence as something Corrections could not eliminate entirely, but said Corrections was "constantly working to ensure our prisons provide the safest environment possible for staff and prisoners".
Corrections Minister Mark Mitchell said Corrections staff did an "outstanding job" of managing many of New Zealand's "most dangerous and violent people".
"No assault is acceptable, and I know working to reduce violence and aggression in prisons is a priority for Corrections, with a significant amount of work underway.
"Corrections have thousands of positive interactions with prisoners everyday but sometimes prisoners can be unpredictable and violent."
Double bunking was a "fact of life" and had been a for a long time in New Zealand and internationally, he said.
"I am aware the department is undertaking a review of the SACRA process to ensure this is robust."
'They failed miserably'
The father of the man who died at Mt Eden prison in June, earlier told RNZ he wanted to know how the two men came to share a cell.
"If he hadn't been double bunked with this person he would still be with us.
"That was the fault of Corrections. Corrections are supposed to care for people, and they had a duty of care to him, and they failed miserably on that."
The woman who was harassed by the victim for about a decade agrees. She said he should have been in a secure psychiatric facility "instead of being placed in the same environment as violent offenders".
The victim's father told RNZ his son was jailed in relation to breaching the conditions of a restraining order. He was eventually released and spent two weeks in a mental health facility in Whangārei before he was granted electronically-monitored bail to an apartment.
He said that while at the mental health facility his son's medication was changed and he was "making good progress".
However, he breached his conditions again and was arrested, spending three days in Northland Region Corrections Facility before being moved to Mt Eden.
The victim's father had been told that the alleged killer had a history with mental health services. He wants to know why the two men were placed in the same cell.
"It was a complete failure of the duty of care to my son."
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