Spring Hill prison report: 'Filthy' conditions, dead pigeons and excrement

Parts of Spring Hill Corrections Facility were littered with dead pigeons and large amounts of excrement, causing health concerns for inmates and staff.

That’s according to a report that also found custodial staff had low morale, large numbers of prisoners felt unsafe and nicotine lozenges were being used as currency.

The Office of the Inspectorate today released its inspection report of the North Waikato facility, which has a history of concerning incidents.

Inspectors observed that some parts of one unit had dead birds, large amounts of excrement and old nests in it.

Another unit’s yard had significant amounts of excrement on the floors, and rotting pigeon carcasses were caught in the overhead wire mesh.

The report said staff and prisoners were “very concerned” about the health risks.

Despite efforts by the prison’s management to mitigate the problem, inspectors considered some parts of the facility “were not fit for habitation”.

During the May 2025 inspection, staff and prisoners said contraband was readily available.

An aerial view of Spring Hill Corrections Facility. Photo / Google

No drug testing had been done for five years, but inspectors were told it started again last November.

The report said nicotine lozenges were used as currency in the prison and new inmates were regularly “stood over” for them, as well as other items.

While many inmates felt safe, a significant number said they did not.

Staff sometimes ignored violence, bullying or inappropriate behaviour, some inmates said.

Of the 829 prisoners, 53% were reportedly affiliated to gangs.

Custodial staff had high rates of unplanned absence, such as sick leave, which often left the facility understaffed despite having a near-full roster.

That meant health workers, educators, case managers and other staff at the facility were not able to provide services, as there often were not enough custodial workers to supervise their access to prisoners, despite staffing levels being at 94%.

In some instances, non-custodial staff described feeling unsafe while interacting with prisoners as the Corrections officer would sometimes leave them unsupervised.

The report said morale among the custodial staff was low, with a high proportion lacking experience.

Of the 829 prisoners at Spring Hill, 76% were on remand at the time of the inspection. Photo / Michael Craig

Chief inspector Janis Adair said in the past decade the facility had essentially become a remand site, with 76% of prisoners on remand at the time of the inspection.

It opened in 2007 and mostly took sentenced prisoners.

The population change was proving a challenge for the site’s infrastructure and staff, she said.

Inspectors also found only 33% of prisoners new to the facility were given a proper site induction where they were explained the prison rules.

Employees said some introduction processes were skipped as staff were trying to get inmates to a unit quickly so the limited number of holding cells could be freed up for other arriving prisoners.

“Overall, while we found some areas of positive practice, we had serious concerns with conditions in some areas of the prison, and with certain practices and processes,” said Adair.

‘Working to stay one step ahead’

Corrections custodial services commissioner Sean Mason said it was positive to see many of the areas identified for improvement in the report aligned with work Corrections already had underway or that had been addressed since the inspection was carried out over a year ago.

At the prison, the intelligence team had developed a contraband tool that provided staff with information on trends, patterns and emerging risks.

“Many prisoners go to extreme lengths to get contraband into prisons and Corrections is constantly working to stay one step ahead in contraband prevention.”

Drug testing was brought back in November 2025, after it was suspended during Covid when all non-essential prison activities were paused, Mason said.

Throughout the period without testing, the site maintained a strong focus on identifying and managing drug-related risks.

Since the report period, 45 additional custodial staff have been employed in the prison and workers are now more experienced due to retention efforts, Mason said.

Although there have been issues at Spring Hill with pigeons roosting or nesting in rooftops, ledges and other parts of the prison, it “has not made parts of the prison uninhabitable”.

The facility has taken steps to fight the bird problem, including installing a pigeon-deterrent system and regularly cleaning droppings.

“Conditions have improved compared to previous years, and we continue to look at new ways to mitigate the issue.”

Incidents at Spring Hill Corrections Facility

Last August, 11 inmates began rioting and starting fires in the prison’s exercise yard. It ended without injury, Corrections staff containing the incident within about two hours.

In 2024, two inmates were charged after climbing on to the prison roof and staying there for more than five hours.

In 2022, two Corrections staff members were assaulted, with one being taken to hospital, during a violent afternoon at the prison.