Human Rights and Prisons - Rethinking Crime and Punishment

of young people. The Ministry of Justice (2010b:128) observes that, in 2008,
some courts – Manukau, Napier and Hamilton – „sentenced the highest
number of young people to imprisonment (5 young people each)‟. In the
same year, most other regions sentenced no, one or two young people to
imprisonment. Explanations for these regional disparities are not clear but the
issue is worthy of further examination (cf Ombudsmen‟s Office, 2007).
Age Mixing
The UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (2009:55) has established that
Every child deprived of liberty shall be separated from adults. A
child deprived of his/her liberty shall not be placed in an adult prison
or other facility for adults. There is abundant evidence that the
placement of children in adult prisons or jails compromises their
basic safety, well-being, and their future ability to remain free of
crime and to reintegrate…State Parties should establish separate
facilities for children deprvied of their liberty, which include distinct,
child-centred staff, personnel, policies and practices.
Apart from particular circumstances (such as being housed in adult prisons to
attend Court appearances), boys and young men aged 17 and below are now
detained in specially designed Youth Units attached to adult male prisons
(currently in Hawkes Bay, Waikeria and Christchurch Prisons). These units
will also house 18 or 19 year olds who are assessed as being vulnerable or „at
risk‟ in the mainstream – a practice that has been previously described as „a
highly undesirable phenomenon‟ by Judge Becroft (2004:57). The location of
these Units means that young people will often be held far from their
family/whānau.
The Ministry of Youth Development (2008:8.13) has highlighted that youth
units cater for the specific needs of young prisoners, „providing a structured
and supportive environment‟. The Ministry details that non-core programmes
and activities (such as parenting skills, art and music) are available, subject to
funding. Further, that vocational training (including joinery, motor mechanics
and catering) is available. The Ministry (2008:8.15) also notes that the
Department meets „responsibilities under the Education Act 1989‟ by providing
those under 16 years old with education.
The treatment of boys and young men in prison has not been matched for
girls and young women. There are no specialist facilities for young female
prisoners and all young females are held alongside adult prisoners. The
justification for this is that there are too few young women in prison. These
practices have faced consistent criticisms from the UN Committee on the
Rights of the Child and the UN Committee against Torture (2009). In their
mixing, young women have fewer opportunities to experience child-centred
provisions that might attend to their offending behaviour.
Goldingay‟s (2007) small-scale research with 11 young women, held in
Christchurch Women‟s Prison, found that they had a mixed relationship with
adult female prisoners. On one level, adult prisoners could provide support to
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