2.4 Inmate Ethnicity by Institution

Of the 6,240 sentenced inmates, approximately 49 percent were identified as Māori, 38 percent as European, 11 percent as Pacific and a further 2 percent as either Asian or “other” ethnicity. The ethnicity of 21 male inmates was not available.

The ethnicity mix varied greatly from prison to prison. For instance almost 70 percent of the women in Arohata prison were Māori, whereas the figure for Invercargill men’s prison was only 28 percent. On the other hand Europeans represented greater than 70 percent of the population of Rolleston men’s prison.

Prisons with the largest numeric Māori population were Waikeria with 565, Hawkes Bay (356), Auckland (315), and Rimutaka (301).

Prisons with the largest European population were Christchurch with 396, Rolleston (224), Waikeria (216) and Rimutaka (191).

Prisons with the largest Pacific people populations were Auckland with 123, Rimutaka ( 102), Mount Eden (78) and Hawkes Bay (56).

Table 2-4 Primary ethnicity of sentenced inmates by institution

The ethnicity of inmates for this table was obtained directly from IOMS, with only the primary ethnicity being analysed. Ethnicity here is regarded as a social attribute not racial attribute. Where an inmate identifies with multiple ethnicities at interview time they are asked to rank these in order of importance to themselves.

Table 2-5 Primary ethnicity of remanded inmates by institution

The ethnicity of inmates for this table was obtained directly from IOMS, with only the primary ethnicity being analysed. Ethnicity here is regarded as a social attribute not racial attribute. Where an inmate identifies with multiple ethnicities at interview time they are asked to rank these in order of importance to themselves.