Prison guards are increasingly being targeted in orchestrated attacks by gangs, according to information obtained under the Official Information Act.
Figures obtained by 1News show that during the 2021-2022 financial year there was a total of 871 attacks carried out by prisoners against corrections staff.
And while this might be a small drop compared to the 907 assaults carried out during the 12 months prior, 22 gang members were involved in very serious attacks on prison officers, compared to 12 the year before.
READ MORE: Hawke's Bay inmate shanks prison officer multiple times in head
Nearly 200 others were also involved in lesser assaults, like biting or gouging, from 2021 to 2022, an increase of 11 compared to the previous year.
Corrections Association President Floyd du Plessis says prison guards are being increasingly targeted by gang-affiliated prisoners.
Corrections Chief Custodial Officer, Neil Beale, says these attacks are often ordered by the gang’s leadership.
“Our staff are being assaulted by gang members not because they had a beef with that member of staff, or anything has gone wrong it's because the gang has told them that's what they're required to do.”
He says staff often have only a moment to react.
“Somebody comes flying out of a cell you've got a millisecond to think is it reasonable, proportionate and necessary for me to use force and then you've got to do that.”
In June, a Hawke's Bay Regional Prison guard was stabbed multiple times in the head during a sudden attack by a prisoner using "an improvised weapon".
PSA Union Organiser, Stella Teariki, says the numbers show that New Zealand’s prisons are woefully understaffed.
However, Corrections Minister, Kelvin Davis believes the figures demonstrate that “we are arresting and putting away people who are the most challenging in our communities”.
“It comes with risks but I have to take off my hat to corrections officers and the work they do.”
But while Davis says he’s pleased with the slight decrease in recent attacks, he also acknowledges “there's only one acceptable target and that's zero assaults”.
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