The Corrections Minister is now waiting on a report by the Office of the Inspectorate before deciding whether an investigation is needed into allegations at Auckland Women's prison, after a highly critical judge's ruling.
Last week, a judge ruled some of the treatment of prisoners at Auckland Women's Prison was "excessive, degrading and fundamentally inhumane", with some inmates made to lie on the floor before getting food. In addition, making inmates show the exchange of each piece of clothing to officers was "an unnecessary invasion of privacy and an affront to dignity", the report found.
It came after an RNZ investigation in November in which an asthmatic woman was reportedly pepper sprayed and was forced to show her used sanitary products to male guards.
Davis originally said he was asking for more information from Corrections over whether an investigation was needed. Māori Party's Rawiri Waititi also called for a ministerial inquiry into the treatment of inmates.
Today, Davis said following Judge McNaughton’s ruling, he did ask Corrections for more information "about the way that the women in this case were being managed".
Since making the request, he was informed that Corrections' team of independent inspectors were already investigating the way the women were "managed" at the prison.
"Given the operational independence of the inspectorate, and the comprehensive nature of the investigation, I believe I am best placed to await the outcomes of the chief inspector’s final report in order to get the full picture of how these women were being managed in prison."
Chief inspector Janis Adair told 1 NEWS the complaints were received last year and after initial inquiries, "I made the decision to conduct a special investigation into these serious and complex issues".
"My team has largely completed the fieldwork phase of the investigation and we are now at the stage of drafting the report. The investigation is considering range of information, from a wide range of sources, including from the women."
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