The Death Of Jason Palmer - Another Prison Officers Thoughts

Ex Marine, Jason Palmer, was a relatively recent immigrant to New Zealand, he came over from the States eight years ago. We’re not sure what he did for a living in the intervening years or why 6 months ago he joined the Corrections service at Spring Hill Prison. A few days ago he died from injuries sustained in an assault by an un-named member of the Killer Beez street gang at that prison.

His death has highlighted the dangerous position that some officers face on a daily basis in NZ’s prisons and how vulnerable some of them feel without stab vests and batons. Mr Palmer had himself described his job as a “hand-to-hand combat situation” and had been trying to transfer to another prison because he felt unsafe at Spring Hill.

Many migrants end up working in the corrections service, often because they’re unable to find suitable and stable work in other occupations.

These posts are from a British man who recently joined the corrections service after living  in the South Island for a number of years. His background is in the trades.  His story could be a ‘Migrants’ Tale’ .  Is it taken from an emigration forum:

“A fellow Prison Officer died as a result of an assault and as i do this job day to day and can understand what goes on in these places, my heart goes out to his family and collegues who witnessed it. When will the GOVT realise we need side batons and cs spray, but oh no it will hurt prisoners feelings.
…A very sad time for all involved, we enter a wing in the mornings and after issuing a razor if they want one, we then collect them all and after that unlock one landing at a time, when issuing razors we only get a reply from them and a face to name muster check, some are still sleepy and we get a grunt, occasionally we get told to F##k off or other nice friendly words or greetings, you can sort of judge the way they will come out of their cells first thing, after a while you get to know their moods and traits, we have some on methadone programs, and they can be a handful in the mornings before their meds, we have ones with ADHD, ODD and all sorts of phychopathic behaviours, nice ay, so unlocking in the day any time can be a dangerous thing.
Apart from that we manage our guys very well and look after each others backs.
…Yes this was a tragety waiting to happen, when we open the cell doors first thing in the morning you dont know what you are going to get, thye wake up shitty or wake up happy, and although we unlock a guy who is on a mangement plan with 3 officers, if that guy comes out full blast, then its game on, if they privatise Prisons we will all leave the job as it will get worse, safety wise, personally we need pepper spray and side batons.
This week we will get about 40 from the North Island, not sure why but we have had theses inmates before and they are trouble, so watch this space, we should get them this week, apparently they are those gang called the Killa Bees, so we will have a right mix to deal with, Mongrel Mob, Black Power, White Power, Crypts and now the Bees so let the fun begin, i do sometimes wonder as i walk down the wing with all these eyes watching your every move, not all the ones we have are up for smashing us, but the odd few go for it, the staff on my wing are awesome, we all watch where are collegues are and make sure we are all safe, the main satisfying thing is locking this scum bags up and keeping them away from the communities.
It is a satisfying career and the commardiery ( excuse the spelling ) is fantastic, we have fun each day with each other and the prisoners as well, i do really enjoy the job, and the wife works there to, and she loves it to, the good days far out weigh the bad, and we try to keep it that way.
But my thoughts are with our collegues family and the prison have set up a fund collection, no consulation, but a way of helping.”

N… Don’t forget to include his son Taylor back in Kingsville, Texas.

It’s unclear what proportion of the present prison population is made up of gang members.  A 2003 study showed that 11.3% of prison inmates were gang members. Of these, about a third each were Mongrel Mob or Black Power, with no other gangs having more than 5% of the imprisoned gang population. (source) A great deal more of them are free and walking around the streets of New Zealand.
According to the book Gangs by Ross Kemp, New Zealand has more gangs per head then any other country in the world, with about seventy major gangs and over 4,000 patched members in a population of about 4,000,000 people.

The greater part of the Kiwi prison population seems to be comprised of people with mental health disorders. If so one has to ask are prison officers are given specific training on how to deal with them and should officers be provided with more protective equipment?

A national Study of Psychiatric Morbidity in NZ Prisons may show evidence that a failure to provide adequate treatment and support to people with mental illnesses is reflected in the high number of convicts with mental health disorders. Nearly 60% of all inmates in NZ have at least one personality disorder:

“The results indicate a significantly higher rate of mental disorder than that in the community. This is particularly so for schizophrenia, for bipolar disorder, for major depression, for obsessive compulsive disorder and for post traumatic stress disorder. All these conditions are associated with high levels of distress and disability, especially during the acute phases of these illnesses.
The National Study also revealed that nearly 60 percent of all inmates have at least one major personality disorder.
The National Study estimates that all inmates who have a current diagnosis of schizophrenia or a related disorder and bipolar disorder will require active psychiatric treatment and of those, 135 will require inpatient treatment. The life-time and one-month prevalence for these disorders is significantly higher than in the community. Of those inmates in the acute phase of these disorders, 30.6 percent are currently receiving mental health medication.”

This post may be updated…

Today's posts - click here

Second Night Of Rioting In Dunedin

From SMH.com.au

"A second night of drunken disorder has rocked Dunedin following the arrival of the annual Undie 500 car rally in the city.

Again facing off against a mob of about 600 people in North Dunedin's Castle Street area, police in riot gear used pepper spray to subdue and disperse the hordes throughout Saturday night. Students again lit fires and pelted police with bottles.

The crowd advanced on officers, "challenging the police line", after police tried to grab a man, Inspector Dave Campbell said on Sunday.

"Many students were pepper sprayed and officers had to call for more supplies as some had emptied their canisters on those students," Mr Campbell said.

Police arrested between 50 and 60 people. This follows the 20 arrests made on Friday night. The weekend's violence and disorder saw the highest number of arrests in recent years......."

More

Riot At Dunedin Undie 500

Yahoo.nz

"Dunedin police were forced to don riot gear and use pepper spray to disperse student mobs during overnight partying after the controversial Undie 500 rally arrived in the city.

About 20 were arrested after more than 600 people pelted officers with bottles, bricks and bicycle parts in the student stronghold of North Dunedin.

The 70 officers took about two hours to disperse the students.

The annual Undie 500 event, organised by Canterbury University engineering students, involves a pub crawl from Christchurch to Dunedin, in cars worth under $500.

The event has previously caused headaches for Dunedin police left to control riotous behaviour at the end of the trip.

Last year's official Undie 500 was cancelled after rioting in the city resulted in 69 arrests the previous year.

However, an unofficial version of the event still ran and 30 arrests were made after another round of disorder.

Most of last night's action centred in the three blocks around Castle Street, with mobs setting furniture and piles of rubbish on fire in Castle and Leith streets, Dunedin Area Commander Inspector Dave Campbell said.

One officer was hit in the head and knocked down with a hurled bottle, and would have been seriously injured if not for his helmet, he said.

Flying bottles hit two or three other people, who had to be taken away by ambulance for treatment.

Mr Campbell said there would be a boosted police presence this weekend and anyone arrested would gain a criminal record, due to a no-diversion policy.......more here"

Good grief! these are supposedly the elite, most intelligent and able young people on which the future prosperity of New Zealand depends. Heaven help us all, have they nothing better to do? And as for the billion dollar, international student market what right thinking family is going to chose to invest in sending their kids to such a place?

A number of residents were injured during the riot when they were caught in cross fire between the students and police. The city's mayor believes the rioting is symptomatic of the harm alcohol is doing to society

New Zealand's Gang Problem

Gangs have been quite a problem in NZ for some time. Some towns acknowledge they have an issue and take steps to control gang activities - for example Wanganui recently banned the wearing of patches - "There are people in Wanganui who will say we don't have a gang problem, but the fact is there is a gang problem in Wanganui, just as there is in other towns and cities," says senior councillor Randhir Dahya."

On the other hand some towns and cities have tried so valiantly to rid themselves of the problem that they now have another problem with admitting gang involvement in crimes when it does occur. Gangs are now euphemistically called "rival groups".
2009
Aug - The police association renewed calls for police to be armed following the second gang related shooting in seven years in the Palmerston North suburb of Highbury

July -'Horror as gang man attacked' -Diners looked on in horror as chairs were smashed on a man's head at a cafe outside Dannevirke.

July - 'Two men found guilty of gang pad attack ' A High Court jury found two men guilty of bashing a man at a Hastings gang pad.

June - A man is seriously injured in what appeared to be a gang related shooting in Foxton, Manawatu. Gang involved was 'The Nomads'

June - Tuari Damyn Karipa-Rangi pleads guilty in the robbery and assault of two men in Christchurch. The gang associated with the violent mugging is named as the YSK - Young Skuxx Klicxx at youth street gang with 10-20 members

June - 'Two bashed in gang turf clash' -Two patched Mongrel Mob members were set upon and beaten up by at least four rival gang members in the car park of the Tamatea Pak'nSave supermarket at 3.45 in the afternoon.

June - 'Prison brawl adds to gang tensions'

June - Gang violence out of control in New Zealand - In the Hawkes Bay region of the North Island, police say it is a matter of pure luck that they are not dealing with multiple murders after members of a local gang chapter tore apart a 21st birthday party, using knives, baseball bats and a machete.

June - Shots fired at house in James Streeet, Dannevirke as gang tensions rose

June - "When gang strife became warfare in the street" Sentencing was carried out for the day that open gang warfare and gunfire erupted on the street of Aranui

Feb - "Gang life is one of petty terrorism, violence and hatred" Said Wellington's mayor after the gang related drive-by shooting in which three year old Jhia Te Tua died in her parents' home. Gangs involved were Black Power and Mongrel Mob.

Feb - "The danger of serious youth violence is increasing as juvenile gangs take up weapons, Hastings' top police officer has warned. In a police crime report to be discussed by city leaders, Inspector Dean Clifford says the suburb of Flaxmere has between 13 and 15 gangs for just 10,300 residents."

Feb - Gang tension comes to Dunedin: a gang related drive-by shooting, Molotov cocktails thrown into houses, and last night there was a street brawl following a car accident on Andersons Bay Road.

Feb - "Mayors play down gang problem after brawls - Brawls in Wairoa and Gisborne including one between Black Power and Mongrel Mob members, resulted in arrests at the weekend but local mayors are defending their area, saying it does not have a gang problem"

Spate of Attacks in Wellington

NZCity is reporting that people in Wellington are being advised to be aware of their personal safety after a spate of street attacks. See: Safety Advisory and Aggravated Robberies

The twin issues of street violence and New Zealand's image abroad were brought to the attention of the world's press recently following a street bashing allegation made by French rugby player Mathieu Bastareaud , which he later admitted was untrue.

The French team had previously dodged bottles thrown at them at the Carisbrook Stadium, Dunedin where they won 27-22 against the All Blacks. See: Bottles thrown

For today's posts see: latest posts

Sex Assault at Dunedin Back Packer Hotel

Dunedin police have arrested a man for the alleged sexual assault of a woman at the Leviathan Hotel last night.

The man, aged 50, was found near to the hotel as police set up a cordon and spoke to the occupants at around 8:50 pm.

The hotel offers cheap accommodation and is often used by back packers and trampers. Reviews on Tripadvisor.com are mixed and the hotel is described as being like a rabbit warren, situated on a very busy road and with a car park filled with huge juggernauts. Questions are bound to be raised about security at the hotel and access by non residents.

At this stage the nationality of the victim has not been released and police have stated that the incident is not linked to two other rapes which occurred in the town over the weekend.

This blog has previously highlighted assaults on back packers and campers in NZ and the growing frequency of this type of attack in New Zealand : link

Update:
The alleged attacker was later named as 54 year old William Daniel Stewart who was staying at the hotel. Stewart is of dual nationality and holds a Canadian passport.

Health Hazards at Muriwai and Dunedin Beaches

A while ago I wrote about the shocking water quality at some of New Zealand's most popular swimming places - a third of them were found to be so polluted that the Ministry for the Environment advised people to stay out of the water. Advice that was in stark contrast to NZ's '100% Pure' image. Some of the locations (Ocean Beach stream in Northland and Kawakawa Bay south of Auckland) were so polluted that the Ministry said the councils should have permanent "no swimming signs".

Beaches in both the North and South Islands made the news again today.

A mass failure of household septic tank systems has put over 2000 residents and a million visitors at risk at Rodney District Council's Muriwai beach, site of a world famous gannet colony.

In Dunedin St Kilda, St Clair and Middle beaches were closed on Sunday due to increased levels of harmful bacteria from the discharge outfall at Lawyer's Head. Fortunately this should be rectified later this week when a new $34 million waste discharge pipe comes on line and pushes treated sewage a kilometre out to sea.

However, no similar solution is proposed for Muriwai where the provision of a municipal waste water treatment plant would cost an estimated $9 million and take six years to complete.

Rodney DC have said that Muriwai has been rejected for a Government sanitary works subsidy scheme because it "rated low in the deprivation index."