Prison fight clubs, drinking sessions and drug-taking is nothing new, according to a former drug addict who spent 11 years behind bars for murder.
The Government has put private prison operator Serco on notice after videos of the inappropriate behaviour at Mt Eden Corrections Facility in Auckland were uploaded to the internet. Two investigations are now underway – one by Corrections, the other by Serco itself.
Paul Wood killed a drug dealer when he was 18. Now a doctor of psychology and behavioural coach who works with troubled youth, he says the clips don't show anything he didn't see with his own eyes.
"Prison is an incredibly violent place, so the fact that violence is occurring in some way, shape or form is no surprise whatsoever," he said on TV3's Paul Henry programme this morning.
"You've got people who have nothing but time on their hands, and who have a strong desire to get hold of contraband, so will spend all of their time looking for opportunities, creating opportunities, pursuing opportunities to access that contraband. I'm not saying everyone does this – that's certainly not the case – but a large enough percentage of people are motivated to do that. This stuff's always going to be in there."
Bevan Hanlon, president of the Corrections Association which represents prison staff, says the Corrections Department has known about the fight clubs for more than a year, but has done nothing about it.
"I can tell you now that on July 9, 2014, the chief executive, the national commissioner and the northern regional commissioner all received [a report about prison fights] and it doesn't make nice reading," he told Radio New Zealand.
"We've got Corrections knowing that this stuff is happening and doing, clearly, nothing about it."
But it wouldn't take a blind eye from prison staff for fight clubs to happen, says Dr Wood. A lack of resources means there will always be "blind spots" where illicit behaviour can take place.
"There are always pockets and places within the prison where the guards can't observe you all of the time, and there are the opportunities for people to engage in fighting, and that's what happens.
"I don't think it's the guards turning a blind eye. I just think it's people being aware of their environment and making the most of that."
Dr Wood says we shouldn't just let prisoners fight, because it reinforces a "culture of violence where violence is reinforced and rewarded within the prison population".
"These people are going to get out and become our neighbours, and do you really want someone coming from such a pro-violent environment to be living next door to you?"
In his experience, remand – where the fights are believed to be taking place – has always been the most violent part of prison.
"Remand is where you go to wait to appear and to go to trial, and it tends to be the most violent place within a prison because it really is a revolving door," he explains.
"A lot of people are there for very brief periods of time, and whenever someone new comes in, whenever you come into a new place in prison, that's when you're at your most vulnerable. The standard operating procedure amongst the inmates is that the gang prospects for whichever is the strongest gang will come and visit you at that point, and will come in, identify whether there's anything worth taking off you, perhaps beat you and take that, or attack you, or at least let you know who's boss."
Serco can be fined for lapses in security, such as riots and escapes. In 2012 it received a $150,000 fine after an inmate spent half-an-hour on the run.
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