Double bunking in prisons

Print

Corrections takes its duty to safely manage individuals in custody extremely seriously. Double bunking has been a long-standing practice in the New Zealand prison system and is a common practice internationally.

Corrections has a range of policies, processes, and tools in place to identify and mitigate safety concerns about double bunking. One of the tools Corrections staff use to review the compatibility of individuals before they are placed in a shared cell is the Shared Accommodation Cell Risk Assessment (SACRA). The SACRA does not replace staff judgement but is an important additional tool to support decision-making and minimise any potential risk.

The SACRA tool identifies key risk factors to consider before placing a person in a shared cell. The assessment captures a range of information about the person, including their age, security classification, offending history, history of imprisonment, gang affiliation, notable physical characteristics, mental health concerns and any other special needs.

To ensure our processes relating to double bunking in prisons are robust and as safe as possible, we have implemented a number of changes to ensure the safety and compatibility of individuals sharing a cell, including requirements for:

  • an initial SACRA to be reviewed if further information is provided that was not available at the time the initial assessment was completed.
  • prison staff to immediately consider the suitability of a prisoner to be double bunked or their compatibility with an individual if they are already sharing a cell, when a review of a prisoner’s risk of self-harm status is completed, due to concerning behaviour or attitude.

Corrections has also recently completed a review of the SACRA process and work is underway to respond to the findings and recommendations made.

If a person is deemed not suitable to double bunk, a NTDB (Not to Double Bunk) alert is activated on their IOMS (Integrated Offender Management System) profile. The NTDB alert includes the reason/s why the person is not suitable for shared cell accommodation and a person assessed as not suitable to be double bunked will be placed in a single accommodation cell.

Data set for double bunking – national and by prison

Data for double bunking in prisons for the 2025/26 financial year is available to view below. The reported results are provisional and subject to change until the year-end process has been completed.

Download data on double bunking XLSX, 455.6 KB