24 Nov 2020

Corrections boss defends pepper spray use on asthmatic inmates

From Checkpoint, 6:07 pm on 24 November 2020

Corrections chief custodial officer Neil Beales is defending the use of pepper spay at Auckland Women's Prison even on inmates with asthma.

Beales said he could not address any of the specifics of the treatment of inmates raised by RNZ today because what happened to those prisoners was subject to an ongoing court case.

But he says the use of bombing women with pepper spray to remove them from their cells - the so-called 'cell buster' technique - was justified when prisoners presented a security risk.

Neil Beales spoke with Guyon Espiner on Tuesday.