Video: Prison rooftop standoff ends
Video from earlier today.
The four remaining inmates at the centre of a tense standoff at Hawke's Bay Regional Prison are back in custody.
Six prisoners aged 17-19 first climbed the roof of the unit at about 2.30pm yesterday afternoon and spent the night outside in freezing conditions.
Two prisoners came down at separate times earlier this morning before the final four followed at about 1pm.
Corrections Chief Custodial Officer Neil Beales says the incident has been safely resolved, with all six prisoners now down from the roof and secured.
"The incident was resolved without injury and without risk to the safety of the public or the wider security of the prison.
"Staff did an excellent job calmly de-escalating the incident and I would like to acknowledge them for their professionalism and bravery."
Earlier in the morning, one inmate could be seen brandishing a large piece of wood, while the other four were throwing items off the roof towards members of the riot squad below.
Beales says a full review will be carried out and the matter will be referred to police.
"Early indications are that the prisoners were upset because they weren’t allowed to go into the unit’s sports area yesterday but the reasons for the incident will be the subject of the review.
"There has been damage to the unit, including broken windows. A full assessment will be carried out to determine the extent of the damage."
