A prisoner at Christchurch Men’s Prison held his cellmate hostage for ten minutes using an improvised plastic weapon today.

Prison director Jo Harrex said the incident was contained within the cell, and there was no threat to the wider security of the prison and no threat to public safety at any time.

She said Staff responded immediately to manage the incident and did an excellent job calmly de-escalating the situation and the prisoner became compliant.

“He has been moved to the prison’s management unit where he remains segregated and is being monitored closely to support his ongoing wellbeing and safety.”

“The victim is also being monitored and provided with ongoing support. There were no injuries to either prisoner and no injuries to staff.”

Ms Harrex said “again, there was no threat to public safety or security of the prison at any time. A full review of the incident is underway and the matter has been referred to Police.

“Corrections staff at Christchurch Men’s Prison did a fantastic job resolving an incident that occurred earlier today.”