Inmates at Mt Eden Prison are facing 22 to 23-hour lockdowns in their cells and are denied physical access to visitors.
Corrections insists near round-the-clock lockups aren't the norm, but has revealed the extent of shocking staff shortfalls across our prisons.
Twenty-two hours locked up, and no visits at all, is the reality for inmates at Mt Eden Prison.
"They're just being locked up with no… no hope," said one partner of a prisoner.
Outside the prison gates, Newshub met the partner of an inmate who's been on remand in Mt Eden Prison for over six months
Newshub is protecting her identity, but she said the conditions faced by those inside, many of whom are yet to face trial, are inhumane.
"The people in remand, there's a lot of people that are just waiting. There's a lot of innocent people and also there's people who have done wrong but they're changing their life and they want to do right," she said.
As Newshub spoke with the woman, she received a call from the inside.
"Twenty-two hours is normal for most prisoners in Mt Eden but for other units, where it's understaffed or they're having trouble controlling the unit, they lock them down 23 hours," the prisoner said.
And it doesn't end there.
"We get video visits at the moment. We did have physical visits a couple of years ago but they cut them off," they added.
Corrections last year told Newshub visits would resume early this year. Many locations have, but not at Mt Eden or Spring Hill south of Auckland.
As for the near all-day lock-ups, Corrections' national commissioner Leish Marsh said they aren't routine.
"But when operational restraints dictate that, whether that be due to an incident, other issues or staff availability at any given time that is occurring on occasion."
Staff shortages are critical. Corrections said it's just over 100 prison officers short at Mt Eden.
Nationwide, Corrections has 450 custodial officer vacancies and that can result in lengthy lockdowns at other prisons.
"Normally we would be aiming for an eight-hour day, unlocked from cells. That may differ between units, some may be longer, some may be shorter," Marsh said.
But as Corrections tries to find the staff, those on the outside are left to worry band those on the inside suffer.
"We just need people to know about this stuff because the biggest chance of change is noise, so let's make that," the partner told Newshub.
