Our visit to ARWCF prison was particularly illuminating. The Management and Separates Unit (C & D Wings respectively) enjoy very little of the innovative design and Mäori centred features of the prison. The unit is barren and cold, with few beautifying features. New arrivals to the unit are greeted with a poster warning that the prison operates a ‘zero tolerance’ policy towards violence and aggression, and a long list of prohibitions and warnings. Policies and staff attitudes at the unit appeared correspondingly harsh. Communications were poor. Staff appeared to have unwarranted interest in prisoners’ initial offences and intimate relationships inside and outside the prison. The staff area was separate from the women’s cell area and had its own kitchen. I observed staff frying nice smelling foodstuffs in the kitchen during lunch time, whilst the women were given a sandwich and a piece of fruit, with the back door open and cooking smells undoubtedly drifting into the women’s cells through the back windows. This was something which I have not encountered in any other jurisdiction. A small radio was placed on a chair at the entrance to C Wing, playing loud music to no one in particular, and was not conducive to creating a calm atmosphere. The design of C Wing meant that it received a fair amount of natural light. However, this did not benefit women in their cells much because cells were covered at the front, from the outside, with black-out curtains which could only be rolled up by staff. Cells were self-contained with a shower / basin, and a narrow window to the back. The outdoor exercise yard contained an open metal cubical with a toilet. The yard was overlooked by a neighbouring building and some of the women in the unit said they felt exposed using the yard and preferred not to use it all. The Separates Unit (D Wing) was darker and narrower than C Wing. Cells had no power, no TV, and were monitored on CCTV.36 Cells also had an adjacent ‘yard’a small, concreted area, covered with mesh. The area was separated from the cell with a heavy metal door, and access to it was remotely controlled by staff. 36 28 The CCTV covered the entire cell area, including the toilet. My initial (2017) review of segregation practices, Thinking Outside the Box? and several reports by the Chief Ombudsman noted that this infringes women’s right to privacy and recommended installing privacy screens.