Dean Wickliffe suffered black eyes and a three-inch gash on his forehead when he refused to be double-bunked, his lawyers say. Photo: Supplied
The alleged abuse of a 77-year-old kaumātua at a Corrections facility highlights the failure of the prison system to uphold its own commitments under Te Tiriti o Waitangi, says a prisoner advocacy group.
Hugh Tekahu Dean Wickliffe was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1972 for murder, which was later reduced to manslaughter.
He was taken into custody on 5 March for not residing at his approved address, but suffered black eyes and a three-inch gash on his forehead when he refused to be double-bunked, his lawyers say.
Corrections said the injuries occurred while Wickliffe was being restrained after throwing an item and taking a "fighting stance" towards staff, but confirmed an investigation was underway and a staff member involved was not currently at work.
Wickliffe is on a hunger strike, declining to eat food and only drinking liquids.
People against Prisons Aotearoa spokesperson Dr Emmy Rākete said the Department of Corrections made "a lot of noise" about its Hōkai Rangi strategy, which was launched in 2019 in response to the Waitangi Tribunal report Tu Mai Te Rangi, to address the significant over-representation of Māori in the corrections system.
"One of the things Hōkai Rangi says is that the Department of Corrections will maintain a manaaki standard of minimum humane treatment for incarcerated people.
"Would any of the people in Corrections believe that if their elderly grandparent was beaten by a group of armed prison guards, that, that was a manaaki standard for humane treatment? It's absolutely absurd."
Emilie Rākete from People Against Prisons Aotearoa. Photo: RNZ / Mabel Muller
Rākete said Wickliffe was sent back to prison because he violated hs parole conditions to live at a specific address.
"So the only reason he was back in prison in the first place was because he committed the crime of being homeless.
"This is a clear example of the class character of prisons in this country. If you are rich, if you have property, if you have wealth, you are not going to be sent back to prison in the way that Dean Wickliffe was.
"So you have a two-tier justice system in this country, one which serves the interests of the rich, one which sees the poor picked up off of the streets, taken to prison, and then beaten in their cells when they refuse to comply."
Rākete said Wickliffe "didn't do anything wrong to get sent back to prison".
"He didn't harm anybody. He didn't damage anything. He didn't damage anybody's property. He was homeless. That is a problem which we solve by giving people homes."
She said in Te ao Māori, that was always their first response to someone having specific needs.
" If somebody needs something, you meet them where they are and you give it to them, so they can live a full, humane, dignified life. But today in Aotearoa, we don't give people the things that they need."
Asian staff constitute the second-largest group of officers in the country’s penitentiaries. Photo: RNZ / Blessen Tom
Acting deputy chief executive of strategy and corporate services Emily Owen said in a statement to RNZ that Corrections was committed to reducing reoffending, improving public safety and addressing the overrepresentation of Māori in the system.
"However, we acknowledge that more than half of the people in the corrections system are Māori, so improving outcomes for Māori is a distinct focus within our broader strategy, and Hōkai Rangi expresses our commitment to delivering this."
Hōkai Rangi was refreshed late last year to address this and Owen said Corrections had a number of partnership and service agreements with Māori providers.
"We currently have partnership agreements with mana whenua covering 12 of our prisons, and we also have informal relationships with several other hapū and iwi across the country.
"While we have made good progress through our original strategy, there is still work to be done."
Owens said the refresh of Hōkai Rangi had provided Corrections with an opportunity to reflect and build on what they had learnt since its launch in 2019.
"We have tried many new approaches and initiatives, and we have learnt from our successes and identified things that could be improved."
"Since the introduction of Hōkai Rangi, we have built good foundations to be more effective and responsive in our work. Our staff continue to embrace what we are trying to achieve through Hōkai Rangi, and show their commitment to improving the lives of the people we manage, to reducing reoffending, and to keeping our community safe."
Spring Hill prison. Photo: Corrections / Chai Patel
Criticism of double-bunking and systemic inequities
Rākete also raised concerns about the use of double-bunking, and said Māori prisoners were disproportionately affected by overcrowding and unsafe conditions.
"Dean Wickliffe is a very old man and he was beaten because he didn't want to be placed in a double-bunked cell.
"That's not how kaumātua should be treated. It's not how anybody should be treated in this country."
Rākete believed Corrections were "not capable of safely administering double-bunked prison cells".
"Double bunking is a prison management technique which puts two people into prison cells that were only ever designed to hold one person. And the possibility that it leads to violence is obviously immense."
Rākete said People Against Prisons Aotearoa is looking for justice in this situation.
In a statement, Corrections acting commissioner custodial services Kym Grierson confirmed an investigation is underway following an incident at Spring Hill Corrections Facility on Thursday 6 March.
"One staff member involved in the incident is not currently at work," Grierson said.
"As there are active enquiries ongoing, and due to our legislative obligations as an employer and under the Privacy Act 2020, we are limited in what further information we can provide on this matter at this time."
Minister of Corrections Mark Mitchell said in a statement to RNZ: "The vast majority of Corrections staff act with integrity, honesty and professionalism. My expectation is if any staff don't meet these standards, Corrections takes the appropriate action."
"Given this is an operational matter for Corrections, and an investigation is underway, it would be inappropriate to comment further."
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