The goal of the Prisoner Escort and Transportation Project is to ensure that prisoner escorts are safe, secure and humane.
In September, Corrections implemented new prisoner escort vehicle standards. These new vehicle standards are interim and will remain in place until permanent vehicle standards have been developed. The permanent standards may require Corrections to buy new vehicles and retrofit some of our current vehicle fleet. Before embarking on such a venture, we are taking time to investigate options and consider current best practice in other jurisdictions.
In the meantime, the interim standards specify, among other things, the design required for any new vehicles, and lists the safety equipment prisoner escort vehicles must carry. The required safety equipment includes items such as fleet link radios, fire extinguishers, a first aid kit and a torch.
Each escort vehicle now carries a vehicle folder which puts in one place the information needed during an escort. The folder includes vehicle and journey checklists, rules on driving hours and emergency procedures and contact details for police stations, prisons and hospitals.
A tool to assist staff to better determine seating arrangements in prisoner escorts vehicles has also been implemented. This tool, which includes a prisoner separation matrix, is part of Corrections’ continuous improvement of our processes.
We have also implemented changes to our computer system (the Integrated Offender Management System) to streamline the paperwork needed when transporting prisoners.
A trial of waist restraints at Waikeria, Christchurch and Auckland Central Remand Prisons was completed in mid-October, followed by an evaluation of the trial findings. The restraints improve prisoners’ safety and security by immobilising the prisoner’s arms by attaching their cuffed hands to a belt fitted around their waist. The evaluation has identified valuable insights for any national implementation of waist restraints, such as the need to ensure all health and safety risks are identified and mitigated.
At the same time as trialling waist restraints, we have trialled seating options such as seat squabs. The results of these trials have also been evaluated, with any changes to seating options or a potential implementation of waist restraints planned for early next year.
Trialling waist-restraints in a prison van: all health and safety risks must be identified and mitigated.
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ISSN 1178-8453