example, Pacific people have been consistently over-represented in the prison population when compared with Aotearoa New Zealand’s total population.114 Regulation and use of less-lethal weapons in prisons (List of Issues item 15) 97. The Commission has recently been provided with data sets related to the use of force (including the use of less-lethal weapons) across all prison sites from 2016 to 2022 disaggregated by gender, ethnicity, and prison location, as well as type of force.115 This data shows that the use of force has increased within prisons since 2016, that incidents involving the use of force have been occurring more frequently in women’s prisons, and that Māori and Pacific people are disproportionately affected in these incidents. 98. In Cripps and Bassett v Attorney-General [2022] NZHC 1532 the High Court considered a claim by two women in prison who on several occasions were subject to a process of “cell extraction”, whereby Corrections officers pumped pepper spray into their closed cells by means of a fog delivery device known as a “Cell Buster”. The Court held that the relevant provisions under the Corrections Amendment Regulations (2009, 2012, 2017) were not consistent with the humane treatment of prisoners.116 In October 2021 the Office of the Inspectorate released a report on its special investigation into the management of three women at Auckland Women’s Regional Correctional Facility, two of whom were the claimants Ms Cripps and Ms Bassett.117 The Inspectorate report found systemic failures in how these women were managed, which developed into a regime that was highly restrictive, failed to follow procedural safeguards and natural justice requirements, and was contrary to minimum entitlements including through prolonged disciplinary confinement and segregation, withholding of food and excessive use of handcuffs.118 99. The Commission understands that the Government is currently engaged in settlement negotiations with the women involved in this litigation. In response to the findings in Cripps and Bassett, the Government has also undertaken to amend the Corrections Regulations to strengthen provisions relating to the use of less-lethal weapons.119 The Corrections Amendment Regulations are due to come into effect in mid-July 2023 (Amendment Regulations). 114 As at March 2023, Pacific people made up 11.2 per cent of the overall prison population and 8.1 per cent of the total population. See Ara Poutama Aotearoa | Department of Corrections ‘Prison facts and statistics – March 2023’ available at https://www.corrections.govt.nz/resources/statistics/quarterly_prison_statistics/prison_stats_march_2023. 115 Corrections has noted some limits in the way this data is presented, whereby one incident involving the use of force may count across multiple factors (i.e. use of force, non-lethal weapons, mechanical restraint). 116 Cripps and Bassett v Attorney-General [2022] NZHC 1532, at [202]. 117 Office of the Inspectorate, Special investigation into the management of three wāhine at ARWCF (28 October 2021) available at https://inspectorate.corrections.govt.nz/__data/assets/pdf_file/0019/44605/Inspectorate_ARWCF_investigation_rep ort_FINAL_Redacted_new.pdf. 118 United Nations General Assembly “Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules)” A/Res/70/175 (17 December 2015), rules 1, 22(1), 23(1), 24(1), 36(1), 43(1) and (2), 45(1), 48(1), 57. See also “Rules for the Treatment of Women Prisoners and Non-custodial Measures for Women Offenders (Bangkok Rules)” A/Res/65/229 (21 December 2010), rules 25 and 42(1). 119 Note the Corrections Regulations, and Amendment Regulations, continue to use the terminology of “non-lethal weapons” rather than “less-lethal weapons” which is preferred in the international human rights law commentary as it is accepted that such weapons are not non-lethal in practice. See United Nations Office on Drugs and Crimes “Topic five - The use of "less-lethal" weapons” (March 2019) available at https://www.unodc.org/e4j/zh/crime-preventioncriminal-justice/module-4/key-issues/5--the-use-of-less-lethalweapons.html#:~:text=The%20term%20'less%2Dlethal',water%20cannon%2C%20and%20acoustic%20weapons. 24