• Pepper spray was used 24 times in women’s prisons in 2019, 23 of which
were in ARWCF, second only to Christchurch Men’s Prison in its absolute
number of pepper spray uses.
• In several instances pepper spray was used following minor incidents, and
some women were sprayed with pepper spray whilst inside their cells, in
contravention of international guidance.
Key recommendations
• Strategies for the management of women in prisons identified in the
Department of Corrections’ policy documents and commissioned studies
should be implemented and that implementation properly monitored.
• Stays in segregated housing must not exceed 15 days. If, in absolutely
exceptional circumstances, segregations have to last longer than 15 days,
reasons for the segregation should be clearly documented and substantively
reviewed by an external body.
• An individual management/care plan should be designed for each segregated
woman, with a detailed roadmap for reintegration, and subject to regular
review. Entry and exit criteria from segregation should be clarified.
• The regime at the Management Unit at Auckland Region Women’s
Correctional Facility should be reformed to include access to a full
programme of daily activities and communal activities as well as ongoing
mental health support.
• Intervention and Support Units should be substantively reformed to ensure
women are not subjected to solitary-confinement like regimes.
• Strip searches and anti-rip clothing should only be used when there is a
specific and immediate need rather than as a blanket policy.
• De-escalation efforts should always be the first recourse and should be
properly documented and scrutinised.
• Pepper spray should not be used in women’s prisons at all. Data does not
support the claim that its use would reduce other use of force.
• Staff working in segregated environments should be specially selected and
should receive enhanced training in mental health and trauma informed
practice.
• The over-representation of Mäori and Pacific women in harsher forms of
segregation requires urgent attention as does the development of culturally
responsive programmes and unconscious bias training.
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