A staff member at a Rolleston youth justice facility was stabbed in the face by a young person, according to a former worker.

The alleged incident occurred just days after a separate attack on another staff member at Te Puna Wai ō Tuhinapo earlier this month.

Oranga Tamariki Youth justice Services and Residential Care Dean Winter Deputy Chief Executive confirmed to chrislynchmedia.com two assaults had taken place.

He said a young person allegedly attempted to assault a staff member in the first, and a staff member was allegedly assaulted and sustained moderate injuries in the second attack. The agency would not detail those injuries, because the matters were before the court.

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The former staff member, who contacted Chris Lynch Media and asked not to be identified because of fear of repercussions, said “the staffer was stabbed in the face by one of the offenders in the facility resulting in a hospital admission.”

They said they left the residence because they feared “somebody will be seriously injured or worse”.

On the frequency of attacks on staff, they said: “Multiple staffers have been assaulted and this is taken as normal and simply part of the job with little to no support from management who seem to downplay these assaults.”

The former staff member said “I believe the public opinion is that the offenders are kept behind locked doors, this is not the case and they can open their doors and come out of their rooms at any time unrestricted. To open a door from the outside a staffer needs to unlock it, but the offender can and does simply walk out of their room freely.”

They said units frequently run with three staff supervising up to 10 young people aged up to 17, and that the residence relies on overtime and casual workers to reach safe staffing numbers.

Fights between young people happen regularly, in some cases daily, with staff required to physically intervene, they said.

They also said the most recent escape from the residence was classified by management as the young person being “off site”, and that there were no consequences after they returned.

The former staff member raised concerns about the residence’s Behaviour Management System, under which young people move through levels.

They said those who reach level three can mix with others at the same level and are regularly bought fast food including KFC, McDonald’s and pizza. The level is reached by not graffitiing the property, not fighting, not assaulting staff and not being abusive. “So in essence being normal.”

Offsite rewards have included go karting, swimming, fishing and, recently, a visit to Christchurch’s new stadium including the captain’s room, they said.

“These are rewards that many children in the community can never have, but the offenders get all these rewards for committing their crimes, some of which are very, very violent.”

Level three also brings three credits a day, equivalent to three dollars, plus a further seven dollars at the weekend, close to 30 dollars a week. The credits can be saved and spent on treats and clothing. “This is all taxpayers’ money.”

They said young people are sometimes given portable DVD players for their rooms, and that staff regularly take them to weight lifting sessions.

“Many of the offenders have become physically larger and stronger, which is really dangerous for staff and other offenders.”

The former staff member said vapes have been smuggled into the residence on multiple occasions, usually by parents of young people. “If the staffers catch them they cannot take the vape off them and simply have to wait until the offender hands it over.”

The former staff member said morale was “rock bottom” when they left, and attributed it to site management. “Many staff have complained to unions about the running of the site and how unsafe it is, but nothing changes.”

They said staff who take sick leave are questioned about their absence, and that anyone taking more than 10 sick days in a year is spoken to and the conversation recorded on their file, including where the absence was for surgery, recovery, or Covid. Uniform standards are heavily enforced, they said, and staff who are not dressed correctly can be sent home to change. The former staff member said they thought carefully before speaking out. “I don’t want anything to happen to the staffers on site as they do an amazing job in very difficult and at times dangerous situations, but some things have played on my mind for a long time.”

Oranga Tamariki response

Oranga Tamariki deputy chief executive youth justice services and residential care Dean Winter said the first incident was promptly and safely deescalated by staff and the young person was subsequently arrested by police.

“Again, this incident was quickly deescalated through the quick actions by staff and Police notified, the young person was subsequently arrested,” he said of the second.

Winter said maintaining the safety and security of everyone in the facility was a priority for the management team at Te Puna Wai, which was providing ongoing support to affected staff and ensuring external support was available, including counselling and ACC support where appropriate.

“Youth justice residences are dynamic environments, staff are trained to work with young people who often have complex and high risk behaviours, and leadership teams regularly review and adapt operating capacities with safety in mind.”

Winter said staff who had been the victim of an assault or threat were supported by their managers and could access the Employment Assistance Programme.

“Any workplace incident impacting staff is logged in our centralised incident management reporting system, which is monitored by our health, safety and security team. This team provides information and guidance to the organisation to support staff wellbeing.”

Further questions put to Oranga Tamariki about staffing levels, door security, the rewards system, credits, contraband and staff morale were referred to the Official Information Act process.

Minister for ChildrenKaren Chhour said in a statement to chrislynchmedia.com, “while I wouldn’t comment on operational incidents, I want to assure the public that the safety of Oranga Tamariki residences is a priority of mine and significant work and investment in this space is underway.

“We’re investing $21.6 million operating and $11.2 million of capital expenditure over four years to improve safety and address critical risks in five secure Youth Justice residences and to implement legislative changes to enable universal searches on entry to residences, in response to recommendations by the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in State Care.

“There is also ongoing training underway to continuously improve residential practice, which results in improved safety for young people and staff in these facilities” Chhour said.

“$41.3 million is being invested over four years to provide funding for Professionalisation of the Residential Workforce, including strengthening professional leadership, uplifting the capability of the workforce and raising the proportion who have comprehensive skills, knowledge and qualifications to ensure staff can de-escalate these kinds of situations safely.”