Lecture 13 - Max Security, Gangs PDF

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Maximum Security Prisons and the arrival of the gang scene. Lecturer: Greg Newbold...

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CRJU302 Lecture 15: 13/09 MAXIMUM SECURITY (2) – 1980: Changing Culture of Paremoremo: - There were a number of factors responsible for the changes in culture in the prisons in the 1980s. - The first was the release of the old laggers – the men who battled against Buckley during the riots of the early 1970s. Lifer and D. Block inmate Stan Rangi was one of Paremoremo’s ‘old guard’, who started getting released from prison, or transferred to lower security, in the 1980s. As they left, the culture of the prison began to change. With this release, the rule of inmate solidarity and the political consciousness that went with it began to decline. - Young men who were coming into the prison at the time had little interest in the history or the tradition of the old criminals, who they saw as old fashioned. As a part of this changing of the guard, the prison began to fill up with young men doing long sentences for extreme and often mindless violence, many of whom were gang members Paremoremo and Gangs: - High levels of gang membership became a defining feature of prisons. Brownie Marsh Mane (24) was one of 4 Black Power members sentenced to life imprisonment (he got a 17 year minimum) in 1996 for killing Crown witness Christopher Crean with a .30-30 rifle shot. Mane was typical of the many violent young gangsters given long terms during and after the 1980s. He was released in July 2015. These kinds of people moved into Paremoremo and took over. - Gang members had very little respect for inmates who didn’t belong to their own gang, or for jail traditions, changing the constitution of the cell blocks. - In the 1980s, gang members were 43% more likely to end up in maximum security than non gang members - There are 40 different gangs in NZ prisons with Black Power and the Mongrel Mob – both primarily Maori - being the two largest. These two gangs total more than half of all prison gang membership. BP and MMM are rivals and foes, and continue feuding inside. - Along with the influx of gang members, the racial demographic of prisons changed as well. Nationally, 40% of all prison inmates were doing time for violence – but at Paremoremo, more than 80% were in prison for violence and more than 25% had committed murders. The old time drug dealers and career criminals had now mostly gone. The typical inmate after 1985 was a Maori gang member doing a long prison sentence for an act of serious violence. - Because of the break down in old values, the inmate group was no longer cohesive, and the flaunting of gang affiliation which had previously been banned now became part of the order of the prison – inmates openly identified with gang membership inside cell blocks, and carried out gang wars in prison. By the mid 1980s, the major problem being faced by prison staff was preventing inmates from bashing each other for gang related issues.

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Gangs now tended to congregate within specific cell blocks – Headhunters dominated A block, the Mongrel Mob and Black Power in B block, and C being reserved for those who didn’t want anything to do with gangs The Mongrel Mob (MMM) was the largest gang in Paremoremo in the 1980s, followed by Black Power (BP). The primary allegiance of these gangs is to fellow gangsters. Today, a third of all inmates are gang members or associates and 70% of all prison gang members are Maori.

Extreme Violence at Paremoremo: - 1979 saw the beginnings of the extreme violence that was to marks the prison from that time onward. This was when Keith Hall – a sexual predator who murdered 10 year old Delphine Phillips had his throat cut by inmate Sedrick James, who was acquitted of the murder. This was the first prison murder in NZ history – there have been 12 more murders since then, 3 of them at Paremoremo. - Kaiaua pub double murderer (1992) Steve Matchitt (pictured) was stabbed to death at Paremoremo in 1993 by Arthur Gray. This was the 2nd prison killing in NZ history. Gray was acquitted on the grounds of self defence, but in 2003 he got 9 years for trying to stab a teenage tourist to death in Nelson just 11 days after his release. - In 1980, as a result of a rise in violence, an entire landing of a classification block was set aside for protective segregation – for inmates needing protection from other inmates - Until 1984, the prison continued to run as it had in the past. However, on Xmas Eve 1984 gang tensions at Paremoremo exploded when the Head Hunters attacked the Mongrel Mob with clubs and knives in the gymnasium. Several Mobsters were seriously injured. After this incident, all association between the cellblocks ceased, the prison was also placed on lockdown over Christmas. Sid Ward, an able administrator, made this decision after realising the gang problem at Paremoremo was there to stay, and there would likely be retaliation and a gang war. - Wayne Doyle was president of the Head Hunters MC in 1984. Doyle was convicted with Graham ‘Choc’ Te Awa of the murder of King Cobra Siaosi Evalu in Auckland in 1985. - The consequences for the prison after the attack were dramatic – spelling the end of 90% of the prisons programmes, closing down workshops, the shared use of the gymnasium, movies were held on separate nights, the debating club finished, the Maori culture club closed, visits had to be held on separate days and weekend visits ended. Routine in the prison itself, as a result of the gang conflict became one of unremitting monotony and boredom – no work, and no movement outside the cell block. - Before the prison became segregated in 1984, Paremoremo’s ‘Airstrip’, accessway to the cellblocks, was a common meeting place for members of different blocks. After segregation it was barren. - The changes in routine and resulting boredom meant a soar in prison suicide rates. Before 1980 there had been only one suicide in Paremoremo – between 1980 and 1987 there were 15 suicides at Paremoremo, 13 of those taking place from 19841987 – 7.5% of inmates committing suicide. Paremoremo Under Les Hine:

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By this time, Sid Ward had retired, and been replaced in 1986 by Les Hine. Les had been a jailer most of his working life, and was a similar man to Buckley – he was a bully. When he was superintended, serious assaults on staff doubled, to one staff members being assaulted every 19 days. There was also a significant increase in protective segregation rates – 50%. One of the reasons for the increase in protective segregation was the influx of Mongrel Mob members who came into prison after the Ambury Park rapes. Tuhoe ‘Bruno’ Isaac was a Mongrel Mob leader and former Paremoremo inmate who organised the Ambury Park Mob convention in Auckland in 1986. He resigned as a result of the anarchy that marred the convention. Staff threatened to strike unless Hine did something to stop the Mongrel Mob violence and taking over Paremoremo and assaulting staff. Instead, Hine attempted to negotiate with them – a tactic that was bound to fail. Head Office realised Hine had lost control, and removed him.

Paremoremo Under Hinemarsh: - In 1987 Hine was replaced by Max Hinemarsh, a former Police Sergeant who had been taken Hostage during the Saifiti incident. Hinemarsh was strong, humane, and similar to Hobson. He managed to bring order back into the institution, dealing decisively with the Mongrel Mob, putting them all in Solitary Confinement in D Block. Gnag domination in the Standard Blocks stopped, and members who couldn’t live peacefully in these blocks were mvoved into D Block. As a result of this policy there was a dramatic reduction in assault on staff and other inmates, and suicides virtually ceased. - After Hinemarsh took over, the prison began slipping from the public eye. - Women started working in men’s prisons in 1985, but none were appointed to Maximum Security. - In 1985 Celia Lashlie became the first woman prison officer to work in a New Zealand men’s prison and was active in having women appointed to all male prisons. Women began working at Paremoremo maximum in 1990. Later she became a speaker and a writer about effective parenting practices and died of pancreatic cancer in 2015. The main problems women had was from other male staff – not from inmates. Today, 30% of all prison staff are female, and are integrated in all prisons across NZ. - Hinemarsh retired in 1991 and was succeeded by a number of superintendents of varying capability. After 1991, there was a reduction in finance. Due to this budget breakdown, cells became run down and unkempt, and there was a reduction in funds to fix things. The Changing 1990s: - In 1996 a prison officer was stabbed and almost killed, in early 1997 there was a minor riot in B block, and later that year a young lifer was stabbed in the lungs, 3 weeks after that a prison officer was stabbed. - At the end of 1997, a lifer called William Ear died in B block while burning out his cell – he set his cell on fire and died with it. - The most influential figure at this time was a B Block screw Brian Chrstie, who took over the role of site manager. Christie was the man who lead the changes at Paremoremo, believing things needed to be toughened up.

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Dr Nick Smith Minister of Corrections (National) 1997-1999, led the crackdowns on prison security in the late 1990s. The quality of life at Paremoremo was significantly eroded by these changes. Smith promised when he became Minister to win the war on drugs and control gangs in prisons. He introduced national cell standards, brought in mandatory random drug testing, and installed rigorous visiting restrictions, Smith believed conditions at Paremoremo were too soft, and didn’t fit his vision with how a Maximum Security Prison should be run. Christie began reading literature about the US SuperMax, and believed this model should be applied at Paremoremo. The idea changed as it went but eventually Paremoremo was to be divided into 6 phases of escalating privileges; starting with nothing, and progressing through good behaviour into C Block with full privileges. The regime constituted a major reversal of living standards at the prison – inmates were unimpressed. Prison escaper, jailhouse lawyer and career criminal Arthur William Taylor orchestrated and led the A. Block riot of 1998. Prison officers locked themselves in their offices and had to be rescued, and for the next 8 hours inmates destroyed everything they could. From this point on a new routine came into effect. Previously, all inmates had full privileges – contact visits stopped, work ceased, lock up was increased to between 21.5-18 hours a day, dining room privileges ended, and only A unit could use the gym. Staff refused to address inmates by name. The regime didn’t last long, as it was found to be breaching human rights. The Prison was taken to court and sued $325,000 in damages to inmates.

Lifers: - Lifer Graeme Burton killed Karl Kuchenbecker and wounded 3 others in 2007, soon after being released on parole for a 1992 murder. This resulted in major changes to the management of parolees. In 2007 Burton attempted to murder Dwayne Marsh in A. Block, stabbing him 27 times with a meat spike. - In December 2008 Graeme Burton, who had lost his right leg after being shot by police in 2007, stabbed Head Hunter Dwayne Marsh 27 times with a meat spike in A. Block at Paremoremo maximum. Miraculously, Marsh survived the attack. - Soulan Pownceby was jailed for 4yrs in 1994 for the manslaughter of his baby daughter and after release represented NZ in boxing at the 2004 Athens Olympics. He then turned professional, winning 21 fights without loss, but was jailed for 14yrs 3mths in 2012 on historic domestic violence and rape charges. - In 2002 Daniel Luff (17) shot and killed Det. Const. Duncan Taylor (39), and shot and wounded Det. Const. Jeanette Park (33) with a .270 rifle in Rongotea, near Palmerston Nth. Luff got life with a 17-year minimum. The 2000s: - Former British prison manager Neil Beales took over the management of Paremoremo Prison in 2009. Since 2012 he has served as Chief Custodial Officer at Head Office in Wellington. - In 2018 a new maximum security prison with a capacity for 680 inmates opened at Paremoremo, Auckland. This prison has 3 major housing units. This is the prison where accused mass murderer Brenton Tarrant is held. Tarrant lives in isolation while awaiting trial. Tarrant has to be locked in isolation as he is a remand inmate – the

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only one in the entire institution. Tarrant is not allowed any contact with the outside world. There is a small enclosure at Auckland Prison maxi designed to stimulate a park setting, where stressed out prisoners can relax and unwind (it’s pathetic)...