18 
February 
2021 
        
 
 
 
 
 
 
C131027 
 
 
M P Ross 
[FYI request #14552 email]  
 
 
Tēnā koe M P Ross  
 
Thank you for your email of 27 January 2021, requesting information about the 
Waikeria Prison disorder event.  Your request has been considered under the Official 
Information Act 1982 (OIA). 
 
You have requested: 
 
Following the end of the Dec 2020/Jan 2021 riot and surrender of 16 prison 
inmates that destroyed the "Waikeria Top Jail"; 
 
1.  How many of the above inmates were internally 
charged/reprimanded/lost privileges/conditions etc? 
2.   What were the specific reprimands/lost privileges/conditions etc in 
each case? 
 
Your request for details of any misconduct charges laid against the men involved in 
the Waikeria Prison incident is declined under the following sections of the OIA: 
6(c), making the information available would be likely to prejudice the 
maintenance of the law, including the prevention, investigation and detection 
of offences and the right to a fair trial. 
9(2)(a), withholding the information is necessary to protect the privacy of 
natural persons. 
 
As per section 9(1) of the OIA, we have also considered whether there are 
countervailing public interest considerations favouring the release of the requested 
information. We do not believe such considerations outweigh the affected people’s 
right to privacy in this case. 
 
3.  Did any of the 16 rioters having destroyed mattress's (along with the 
rest of the 'top jail', receive a brand new or improved mattress on 
relocation to another part of Waikeria Prison or another prison following 
their riot, destruction, arson and surrender? 
 
People in prison have a number of minimum entitlements as outlined in section 69 of 
the Corrections Act 2004. Section 69(1)(b) states that every prisoner has a bed and 
bedding that is sufficient for warmth, health and reasonable comfort. 
 

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I trust the information provided is of assistance. Should you have any concerns with 
this response, I would encourage you to raise them with Corrections. Alternatively, 
you are advised of your right to also raise any concerns with the Office of the 
Ombudsman. Contact details are: Office of the Ombudsman, PO Box 10152, 
Wellington 6143. 
 
 
Ngā mihi  
 
Robert Jones 
Manager Ministerial Services 
People and Capability 
 

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