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Six inmates spent a cold night on the roof of Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison after gaining access to the area on Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n
The inmates were seen gathered on the roof of the facility around 8:55 a.m., where they appeared to be playing a news report of their situation from a radio.<\/p>\n
The prisoners could be heard shouting “it’s because they didn’t let us out” and “we’re happy”.<\/p>\n
A team of a dozen riot squads has assembled at the base of the building.<\/p>\n
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Marty Sharpe\/Things<\/p>\n Prisoners gathered on the roof of the Hawkes Bay Regional Prison on Tuesday morning.<\/p>\n A freezing frost had formed outside the prison gates overnight and shortly after 6.30am the temperature in the area had dropped to -1C. It is not clear if the prisoners had any protection against the cold.<\/p>\n Chief custody officer Neil Beales said a negotiation team had been “engaging with the group of prisoners throughout the night” but had been unable to end the standoff.<\/p>\n “We are taking all appropriate measures to ensure the safety of the inmates and put an end to the incident,” he said. <\/p>\n On Monday, the Department of Corrections’ Lower North Regional Commissioner, Liz Hawthorn, said staff responded immediately when the inmates climbed onto the roof around 2.30pm on Monday.<\/p>\n READ MORE: Advanced Control and Restraint (ACR) and Prison Negotiation (PNT) teams were brought in on Monday afternoon, he said. <\/p>\n Marty Sharpe\/Things<\/p>\n Frost on the ground outside the Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison, where six inmates had spent the previous night on the roof of the facility.<\/p>\n The inmates, aged between 17 and 19, were from the Youth Unit which had been secured since then.<\/p>\n The area the inmates accessed was within the prison’s boundaries and Hawthorn said there was no threat to prison security or public safety.<\/p>\n The weather is cool and clear on Monday evening. Prisoners could be seen walking around the roof screaming and laughing while six or seven Corrections officers waited on the floor.<\/p>\n things<\/p>\n One of six prisoners who climbed onto the roof of a wing at Hawke’s Bay Prison.<\/p>\n From the entrance to the prison, screams and intermittent banging could be heard, as if the roof had been hit. Two security guards kept people from getting too close.<\/p>\n Police confirmed on Tuesday morning that they were not attending the incident at this time.<\/p>\n In June, a prison staff member was repeatedly stabbed in the head by an inmate. <\/p>\n things<\/p>\n Prison staff watch over prisoners who climbed onto the roof.<\/p>\n New Zealand Correctional Association president Floyd du Plessis called the June attack “savage, violent and unprovoked”.<\/p>\n In 2011, a dozen inmates staged a protest on the roof of the same prison. In this case, the prisoners stayed on the roof overnight.<\/p>\n
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* Deputy Children’s Commissioner opposes move to place teenagers in adult prisons
* The devastating three-hour standoff at Canterbury Prison
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