Young persons in detention A significant number of young people aged 16 to 17 have been identified as being held in adult prison units. Inspectors found two 17-year old remand accused prisoners23 held at Manawatu Prison in conditions deemed unacceptable.24 They were housed in cells previously identified as not fit for purpose.25 They were subject to a basic yard-to-cell regime, exercising in small safe cell yards and had no access to the gym, library or any form of constructive activity or regular staff interaction. The Department was notified and the youth were relocated to Hawke’s Bay Regional Prison where they could participate in programmes and activities for youth. The Department provided information advising the number of 16 to 17-year olds held at each facility for the week of 19 May to 26 May 2017. On 19 May, there were twenty-five 17-year olds housed in adult accommodation.26 Complaints process The Department has enhanced its prisoner complaints process and set up a dedicated complaints telephone line. The new system was implemented on 1 December 2016. We are continuing to work with Corrections as the new system is refined, including on teething issues which my Inspectors are identifying, such as some prisoners not knowing how to raise a complaint and experiencing difficulties accessing complaint forms. These issues appear to be occurring at a site level and are reflected in prisoner questionnaire responses. Table 5: Prisoner questionnaire results – complaints process27 Hawke’s Bay Spring Hill Christchurch Men’s Prison Muster on the day of inspection 676 969 897 Number of questionnaires handed out 646 854 853 Number of questionnaires completed & returned 442 (68%) 562 (66%) 534 (63%) % of prisoners surveyed who reported not knowing how to raise a complaint 24% 14% 18% Number of responses: (107) (78) (509) % of prisoners surveyed who reported it was difficult to access a complaint form 41% 53% 42% Number of responses: (181) (296) (507) % of prisoners surveyed who reported they have faith in the complaint system 27% 16% 16% Number of responses: (120) (90) (471) Monitoring Places of Detention 17