The Department noted that the recommendation to introduce food serveries was not considered appropriate. It noted though, that as I recommended, tie down beds had now been removed. It also pointed to improvements to the physical environment of Intervention and Support Units across the prison estate. One civil society organisation pointed to several positive policy and legislative changes since 2017, which supported progress against recommendations made in Thinking Outside the Box?, (and in the Office of the Ombudsman's 2017 report, ‘A Question of Restraint’) including the ending the use of tie-down beds. In relation though to other issues raised in the review, it expressed concern about lack of progress, for example on early meal times, and inconsistencies in the documentation of segregation. Other areas of concern highlighted by submissions from civil society organisations included: mismatches between prisoner and unit classification; the impact of staffing levels on lock-up hours; prison transport; the impact of solitary confinement on older prisoners; and staff training on human rights. The current use of segregation and restraint in prisons: key findings Frequency and length of segregation placements In the year to the end of December 2019, there were 15,225 recorded instances of segregation placements in New Zealand’s prisons, compared to 16,370 placements in 2016. Close to 30% of the 2019 placements lasted less than a day. A total of 1,339 placements, or 9%, lasted longer than 15 days, the length of segregation stipulated in international human rights law as prolonged, as therefore potentially a form of prohibited treatment. Figure 1: Frequency and length of stays in segregation: 2019 >15 days (9%) 1 – 15 days (62%) < 1 day (29%) 15