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'Mentally ill people don't belong in solitary confinement'

Author
Newstalk ZB Staff,
Publish Date
Thu, 27 Apr 2017, 9:07am
A new UN-funded report has found inmates are four times more likely to be put in solitary confinement than their UK counterparts (Photo / File)

'Mentally ill people don't belong in solitary confinement'

Author
Newstalk ZB Staff,
Publish Date
Thu, 27 Apr 2017, 9:07am

New Zealand is being told to stop segregating and restraining prisoners with mental health issues.

A new UN-funded report has found inmates are four times more likely to be put in solitary confinement than their UK counterparts.

SEE ALSO: NZ found to overuse solitary confinement

SEE ALSO: Report scathing over NZ use of solitary confinement on kids

Report author, international human rights expert Dr Sharon Shalev, told Larry Williams there's a large number of mentally ill people in New Zealand's prison system.

"These people do not belong in segregation. Segregation, or solitary confinement, is known to make them worse. So much so that the United Nations now calls for mentally ill people not to be held in seclusion at all."

LISTEN ABOVE AS DR SHARON SHALEV SPEAKS WITH LARRY WILLIAMS

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