Behind The Wire

A man is supposed to be considered innocent until proven guilty. All inmates in any remand prison are therefore still considered innocent. One would wonder then, why remand prisons have the worst facilities and the inmates must live in disgusting conditions. Addington prison is the remand centre for Christchurch as well as many other South Island towns. The first ride to Addington remand prison in the police van is terrifying for most men. The rear of the van is separated into two sections. The mainstream remandees were in the larger rear section, and those wishing to be on protection ' rode in the front part. As with the ride to court, those in the back part shouted abuse at those in the front, frequently punching the Perspex partition between them. Any man sitting with his back against the partition would feel the blows against it and would sit forward so they could not be struck. Unfortunately, those on "protection"were all considered to be "kidfuckers"and all abuse reflected this. The men in the front part were constantly threatened with death, being told they were going to be killed in the yards. Many of the protection inmates were old men. They cringed at every word;every blow against the Perspex thankfully keeping them apart from those who might injure them. This continued throughout all court proceedings.
Addington prison was a very old building, previously used as a stable for army horses. The interior was abysmal to say the least. The main wing was dark and foreboding, with cells along both sides. There was a small area separated by yet another Perspex shield, offering protection to inmates who feared for their safety.
When an inmate arrived at Addington for the first time, he was taken from the court or police van and made to stand quietly in the main corridor. He may have been an accused sex offender, or an old man, terrified as he stood among other angry remandees. At least one guard watched on to ensure there was no trouble.
The new remandees were then placed into an open cell, with those on protection being placed in a separate cell. Individually, each remandee was taken to an open room. In full view of others, he was made to strip completely naked. While he stood there, ashamed and bare, his clothes were searched. Inmates in the main cell made crude comments as each remandee on protection was stripped. Unless the remandee had been in prison before, he felt more embarrassed, humiliated and violated than he had ever felt in his life. The search would last five minutes or so and then the inmate ordered to dress.
Next, the inmate was processed. His details were placed on a computer by a guard and any personal property bagged, labeled and recorded. An inmate must have one complete set of clothing in his property. The remandee was then taken back to the cell, where passing inmates would look in, sometimes making crude comments or verbally abusing him. Here, the remandee would wait until called to the prison nurse for a medical check. If the doctor was there, he would conduct a thorough examination, including feeling the remandees testicles to determine if he had a hernia. When the medical check was complete, the remandee was escorted back to the holding cell where he waited to be escorted to the kitlocker and issued with his kit.
The kitlocker was a room off the main corridor. Two men worked there and supplied clothing and bedding to all inmates in the institution. A pillow, 2 sheets, 2 blankets, 1 pillow case, 1 towel and any clothing requirements were dispensed to the remandee as he was taken down the corridors and into the main wing for the first time.
Many were afraid as they skulked through the door into the wing. Men shaking with fear was a common sight. Another guard met them at the wing door and escorted them to allocated cells. They were told to get into the cell and having done so, the door was slammed shut and locked. Finally they were alone for the first time.
Nothing prepared a new remandee for the tremendous impact of the sudden realization he was in prison. Something happened to him as the steel door slammed shut. Almost as if by instinct, he would try the door wondering if it was really locked. It was. At that instant many would panic. The loss of loved ones, their livelihood or homes, friends, belongings and ultimately the loss of their freedom would descend on them, crushing their life. Some cried, others resigned themselves to the situation and a few were angry. No matter how they reacted it would do no good because the one thing they would have to get used to from this point on was complete helplessness and total dependency on the very system which had taken their freedom away.
As he looked around his cramped cell, the inmate was t learn what prison was all about. There was no water or electricity. The bars on the high windows would be his constant companion. There were two bunks in an "U"shape with a small table between them and a 10 litre paint pail for a toilet. The rest of the cell was bare.
Meal times were at 7.OOam, i1.OOam and 4.OOpm. For most, the first encounter with prison food was shortly after arrival at Addington prison. Lunch would be brought to the new remandees. On arrival, my first meal was lunch. It consisted of two patties of some kind, soup, an apple, bread and butter and a cup of tea. It was a re heated lunch and not very tasty. Most new remandees had trouble eating the first meal, no matter what it was. Their stomach would be tied in knots.
Just before dinner, guards unlocked the cells and the order to "Slop out"was given. All remandees picked up their "piss pots"and took them to the toilet block. In this room there were several urinals, toilets and hand basins. At the opposite end to the door was an open sewer. Remandees lined up with their urine filled buckets, then emptied them into the open sewer. They had to be careful not to be splashed with the urine from another mans bucket. While there a man could go to the toilet and wash up. Many waited for "slop out"to go to the toilet. It was considered better not to urinate or defecate in the buckets because it would stink the cell out. Those who had trouble using a toilet in front of others, had difficulty getting used to either the toilet block or the buckets. About 5 minutes was allowed to complete ablutions then all remanded prisoners had to return to their cells, where they were locked in once again until 11 O 'clock when dinner was ready.
The first dinner time was confusing for the new remandee. He had no idea what to do or where to go so he followed the others. Guards unlocked the cell doors and said loudly, "stand by your doors". All remandees were expected to present themselves for a "meal parade". When all were at their cell doors the command "lead on"would be given. Meals were picked up from the servery, a small window in the wing (see MEALS:) . Food was placed on a tray. There was a main meal, dessert and bread and butter. A cup of tea was obtained from an urn near the window. Occasionally insults were directed at some of the remandees. It was considered that all older men were child molesters and they were abused accordingly and very quietly so the guards couldn't hear them. Any remandee who had a high profile case with plenty of media coverage would be abused more than anyone. Having picked up their meal, the inmates went back to their cells to eat it. Inmates waiting upstairs often spat into the food of protection inmates as they walked beneath the landing that these men were waiting on.
Once in the cell, a guard locked the door again. Ten minutes later the guards called "plates out.. Get your water"and unlocked the doors. All plates were placed outside the cells on the floor of the wing, and those requiring water to drink for the night would get it from the toilet block. Again, the inmates were told to go into their cells and the doors locked for the long night ahead.
If a remandee had a battery powered radio, he could listen to it at night. If not, and there was nothing to read, the 15 hour night was extremely long. Some had court the next morning and were nervous about the van ride and what was going to happen to them in court. Others had no court appearance for anything from a few days to several weeks. Either way, there was often little sleep for any remandee.
During those long nights men would yell out anything from casual banter with a friend in another cell, to abusing a child molester. Every now and again someone yelled out for a guard to open his cell door because he wanted to use the toilet. Usually this wouldn 't be done since no one is permitted to be unlocked until morning, unless in an extreme emergency.
To get through the night, many remandees talked to each other. That was often the only way to pass the time and could occur only if cell mates were comfortable with each other. The worst part of the day was when the sun was going down,. Looking out through the bars on the window at a deep blue sky as daylight faded was often a deeply emotional experience. A man wondered when he would see a tree, a river, the mountains or walk free under the sky again.
Some remandees became suicidal. To ensure they were delivered to court and justice be done to them, "Pegs"were put in place if they were considered a suicide risk. "Pegs"were off routine checks. They were made at regular intervals of 5, 10, 15, 20 or more minutes. At night, when an inmate was on "pegs", his light was turned on and he was observed. An entry was made in the guards log containing the time and a comment like " appears asleep". Even if the man had managed to get to sleep, the light continually woke him up. Some guards used a flashlight when checking suicide risks.
If an inmate was considered an extreme suicide risk, he would be placed in cell 15, otherwise known as the "suicide cell". He would be stripped of all clothing and placed in a canvas type jacket. Cell 15 contained nothing. The walls were padded to prevent self inflicted injury. The inmate would be observed constantly until the psychiatric nurse deemed him safe to come off observation. Despite this facility there were suicides in Addington prison. Occasionally men would be discovered hanging by the neck from a bed sheet attached to the window bars or lying in his bed soaked in blood, having slit his wrists with a blade from his prison issue razor.
The morning at Addington began with guards unlocking the cell doors at 7.OOam. The "slop out"order was given and the piss pots containing the nights deposits, emptied in the open sewer in the toilet block. The order to "Stand by your doors"was given, then breakfast was collected. The procedure was the same for every meal. The remandee must get used to this routine. There was a notice on the back of all cell doors containing the entire routine for those who found remembering it difficult.
At 8.OOam, there was the option of showering. Anyone wanting a shower went to the shower block near the guard room in the main corridor. Some went, others elected not to shower some of the time since daily showers were not compulsory. All inmates were expected to have three showers per week. Shaving and ablutions were carried out at the same time in the shower block. There was a notice on the wall, warning about the dangers of sharing razors. Most men were very careful not to share. The threat of becoming infected with A.I.D.S or the H.I.V virus was ever present and many worried about it.
Showering was not private. For many this was the first time they had showered in front of others (see SHOWERS:).
A "canteen"was issued to all remandees. The first issue contained a Bic disposable razor, a bar of plain ,white unscented soap, comb, a small pack of Colgate toothpaste, tooth brush, three small sachets of shampoo and a pen. All future issues did not contain the tooth brush, comb or pen. The "canteen"was free to all remandees and was handed out weekly.
The first morning in Addington prison, the new inmates began the ritual of cleaning out their cells. Although there was nothing much in the cells, they became dusty and dirty very quickly. After breakfast, guards unlocked all the cells. The men in them were required to get a broom, mop and bucket then sweep and wash the floors in their cells. Cleaning was done daily and was compulsory. There was an ever present smell. It was a mixture of unwashed bodies, sex and death. No matter how much a man washed out his cell, it still stunk the same.
At 2pm, the remandee could receive visits from friends and loved ones. Non sentenced remandees were permitted to have daily visits. Sentenced inmates were only allowed one visit per week, on the weekend.
When the time came to go out to the visiting room, the inmate was escorted from his cell to the guard post at the door to the visiting room. There, he would be "patted down"to en9.ure he was not smuggling anything out of the prison. The door was opened and he went into the visiting room. On the first visit, the new remandee was usually terrified. He would feel as though everyone was watching him and in some cases, they were. If the remandee was the subject. of media coverage trial, everyone knew who he was. Other remandees and their visitors would stare and talk about him. As he walked past them, comments and threats would be made about him, just loud enough for him to hear. The guards would not hear these comments or threats. If a remandee was a highly publicized child sex offender, he may be granted separate visits by the unit manager of the prison. These however would be only once or twice a week and were stopped when the man receiving them asked, or the threat was considered to be past.
Visiting time was hard for everyone. The room itself was very small and held only a small number of people. Visitors had to wait outside until there was room for them to go in. Plastic chairs were placed around the dull yellow painted walls. Two guards were in the visiting room at all times. One guard sat at the entry door. All visitors had to go past him and sign the visitors book. The other guard wandered around between the visitors and remandees.
The noise in prison visiting room was constant. It was hard to hear what the visitor was saying over the din. It was a relief to many remandees and their visitors alike, when it was time to leave.
Before going back to his cell the remandee is strip searched (see families). If he is found to have brought anything in from his visitor he will be charged, as will his visitor. Anything required to be delivered to the remandee must be handed in at the guard house. After being checked and accepted as suitable, the goods were recorded as being in the remandees property. Cash was accepted and placed into the inmates prison account. After all remand inmates had returned to their cells, the property was delivered to them by a guard. All television sets and electrical appliances had to be accompanied by an electrical safety certificate from "Tisco". If they did not have one, they were not accepted by the guards.
Remandees who were not yet sentenced were able to buy goods (see Buy Up 's) daily. The prison welfare officer took the p119~s, the but up forms, and bought the goods, which were delivered to remandees every day. Sentenced inmates who were still at Addington had Buy Ups only once a week. Remandees had to rely on cash from friends or relatives since there was no allowance paid until they were sentenced.
Phone calls were placed after dinner. Remandees were taken to the phone at the end of the wing. Some would be abused as they walked past other cells. A guard asked for the number required, and dialed it. When someone answered, the phone was handed to the remandee. Three minutes were allowed for each call, after which time the guard told the remandee to end it. Initially, the calls were free of charge. Late in 1992, the free calls ended and all inmates, both remand and sentenced, had to supply their own phone cards. These were sold to the inmates by the prison and it was not permitted to have them brought in through visits. If they were, they would be placed into the inmates property, to be handed back when he was released. Phone calls to lawyers were available almost on demand. They were free of charge as was required under the law. These calls were usually placed after 9am and would allow little or no time for a remandee to talk to his lawyer before court. Many men were disadvantaged by this. Sometimes for whatever reason, phonecalls to a lawyer were not made available, even if they were urgent. There was no explanation for this. As a direct result many remandees were interviewed by police without their lawyers present. This would often mean the difference between jail and freedom, and men went to jail pleading innocence. A mans ' lawyer was his lifeline.
The remand experience, at a time when a man was in his worst mental state, was soul destroying and totally destructive. Win or lose he had lost everything, even if he was found innocent. For this reason, psychiatric nursing staff from the forensic unit at Sunnyside hospital regularly visited suicidal and highly stressed remandees. They spent each visit convincing the remandee he was guilty and that his depression stemmed from the fact he was in denial of his crimes. Although they told him he must do what was right for him the remandee was pressed to enter a guilty plea. Never was it considered he may be innocent, and that was what was depressing him. By the time the remandee went back to court he was often convinced he had done things which he had riot. The system was geared to obtaining a conviction.
Any prisoner at Addington could put his name on the list to see the doctor. He could be seen once a week if the need arose. The rest of the time, a nurse was in attendance during normal business hours. She dealt with all minor problems and dispensed medication to those who needed it or were on prescription medication before their arrest. To see the nurse. one asked a guard at unlock for his name to be put on the list. Later that day, a guard would come and collect him. and escort him to medical. There were few options for recreation. A remandee could borrow a book from the prison library. All books were old and had been donated. Anyone getting a book from the library could not expect to finish it, either because it was incomplete, or he may be moved to another prison the moment he was sentenced.
Videos were played occasionally. those not on protection would sit together upstairs and watch them. Those on protection had to sit behind the plastic shield separating them from everyone else. A television set was wheeled into the protection area and those wishing to watch could do so. Other remandees shouted abuse as they walked past. Most pressed their faces to the plastic shield and looked at the inmates within. It was as though they were window shopping. however they couldn 't get to those on protection but it was still frightening for those behind the shield.
The yards were frightful. Although protection and non protection remandees were kept in separate yards, abuse and flying objects such as batteries or stones, were a constant hazard. For those who went out to the yards at 9am, there was little to do for the two hours until Dinner time at 11:00 am, but sit in the sun, read a book or walk up and down the tarsealed area within the high concrete walls. There was not enough room to play any games in these small cages. There was a toilet in all the yards. It was open and filthy, almost never had any toilet paper and everything was covered in bird shit. Most remandees who went into the yards interacted reasonably well. Every now and again there was a fight which sent the guards scurrying to put a stop to it., then remove the trouble makers. Protection remandees had to walk well away from other yards as they passed, in an attempt to avoid being spat on. Threats would be shouted as they made their way to a separate yard. Afternoon yards were from 1pm to 3-3.3Opm. Most remandees went out to the yards at some stage.
There were "yip's"(youth in prison) at Addington. These youth 's were often below 17 years old and were on the way to Corrective training. During 1992 there was such an overflow of prisoners, Yip 's were placed in Paparua prisons ' Centre south wing until they could be transferred to CT.
They were subject to the same rules, conditions and routines of general adult inmates and remandees, but with a few more additions. They were not allowed to associate with adult prisoners, although this was unavoidable at times as their cells were in the main wing. They were not permitted to smoke. This didn 't stop them though. Other prisoners gave them cigarettes, and those who got none would pick up butts from the ground and rip pages from their bible with which to roll them into cigarettes. Bible pages made particularly good tissues because they were so thin. Some youths elected to serve a prison sentence with the hardened adult inmates, rather than go to Corrective training. The guards at Addington prison were different from those encountered in any other prison. The day guards appeared more intense, always watching for trouble. Heavy news media coverage on some cases made their job more difficult, often having to escort remandees around the prison to prevent them from being attacked. For this purpose, several guards escorted the remandee concerned. It was safety in numbers. Night time guards were a bit more laid back. From time to time, some of them went to various cells to talk with the remandees inside. These guards came across as being friendly and caring. Sometimes a remandee would look out the peep hole in his cell door and see guards playing tennis in the wing.
Things didn 't always go well. There was industrial action in 1992. So that the guards could attend stop work meetings, all visiting privileges were suspended and all remandees locked up for the afternoon. This angered the men locked in their cells because their visitors were waiting outside the prison. Shouting could be heard for quite a long time, as visitors, some of whom had traveled hundreds of kilometres to be there, and remandees called to each other. Eventually, guards put a stop to it, instructing the visitors to leave prison property.
Life on Remand was difficult, frightening and hopeless. some remandees felt it was made that way for a purpose. Because the terrible and often sub human conditions, and intensive, pervasive fear took a heavy toll on a man, many simply pleaded guilty to get out of remand. The uncertainty and fear destroyed many a remandees yearning for justice to be done, and many found themselves sentenced to long periods of imprisonment, still believing they were innocent and asking themselves how it happened. To make the best use of this situation, the police made visits to remandees. It would be much easier to get statements from first time remandees, since it was not possible to get a lawyer at such short notice. There was no compulsion for any remandee to speak to the police. The prison was required to present the remandee to the police. The remandee then had the right to refuse to talk to them. If he did so, he was taken back to his cell. Prison guards did not care whether or not the remandee spoke to the police, and no pressure was put on the remandee by the guards, to do so.
Police usually appeared at the remand prison in pairs. One would adopt the "we don't want to nail you to the wall"attitude, the other would say. "but we will if you don't tell us what we want to hear". If the remandee didn 't respond to this line (most first timers did), threats would be made against the inmate. The remandee would be told that the police would inform the judge that he was unco-operative. He would then be told that his would get him another year on his sentence. Never would the police consider the remandee may be innocent. A common statement from police during one of these interviews was, "You can plead guilty and get 4 years in jail or try and fight it, be found guilty anyway and get ten years. It's up to you". This tactic was used to elicit a confession. Men under extreme stress would say anything if they thought it would help them in some way. The remand situation was used to create this state of mind. It made obtaining a conviction easier for the police and the justice system because there was no outside interference, and the remandee could be kept in the dark about what was happening on the outside. The fact that there was little or no evidence could also be kept from the remandee since he was isolated.
Many men would speak to the police at the remand prison believing this would get them out, only to be chastised by their lawyers after putting their foot right in it and making an admission, frequently untrue. A man would do almost anything to get out of the hell hole called remand prison. Ultimately the only quick way out was to plead not guilty then apply for high court bail. The only other way was to plead guilty and go directly to jail. Since pleading not guilty would invariably result in a much longer prison sentence, there was no advantage, just futility and it was this futility which helped the justice system convict men, some of them innocent. It was also this futility which caused men to slit their wrists or hang themselves in the dead of night.
The night before a court appearance was frightening for many remandees. After breakfast and showers, all men who were to appear in court that morning were assembled in the holding area near the back gate. There would be a short wait, although it seemed an eternity, before all remandees were assembled at the back gate, their names read out and then told to board the police van. Only men who had not been sentenced, or who were not having their cases heard in the high court were taken to court in the police van.
As with all police vans, there was a Perspex divider between the rear and the front part of the van. Protection remandees were placed in the front, non protection in the rear. The men in the protection part of the van were threatened and the Perspex divider bashed all the way to court. Those in the front part were terrified as each crash of a fist on the divider sent shock and fear through them. By the time the ride to court was over, the remandees in the protection part of the van were quite shaken. On arrival at court, the remandees were placed in cells beneath the court house. Protection remandees were kept apart in different cells. This often meant the protection remandee was alone in a bare cell for many hours. Mainstream remandees were kept together in a main cell near the door to the court room. The remandees name was called over a loudspeaker when it was his turn to appear. A policeman went to the cell and escorted the remandee to the court room, ushering him into the dock which was beside the door.
The appearance was brief, then the remandee was taken back to his cell to wait for the return trip back to Addington prison in the police van. All the way back to the prison, there were more threats, abuse and crashing fists on the divider in the van. This trip would be repeated on numerous occasions as the remandee went to and from court on the way to sentence and ultimately, prison.
Once back at the remand prison, all remandees were taken from the van, placed in holding cells and fed lunch There would be several new remandees each trip. They could be seen stripping, being searched and processed.

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SEX IN JAIL :