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Escaped prisoner recently upgraded to max security outran three security guards

Author
Melissa Nightingale,
Publish Date
Tue, 14 Jan 2025, 8:39am
CCTV captured Te Ariki Poulgrain escaping the basement of the Liggins Institute in Auckland in June 2021.
CCTV captured Te Ariki Poulgrain escaping the basement of the Liggins Institute in Auckland in June 2021.

Escaped prisoner recently upgraded to max security outran three security guards

Author
Melissa Nightingale,
Publish Date
Tue, 14 Jan 2025, 8:39am
  • Te Ariki Poulgrain escaped custody during a medical escort despite having recently been upgraded to maximum security, documents show 
  • He outran three corrections officers who had to ask a motorist to dial 111 
  • An overridden security classification was a key factor in the 2022 escape of Damon Exley, who raped a stranger at knifepoint while on the run 

A violent prisoner who fled custody while being taken to a medical appointment and spent 10 weeks on the run had recently been upgraded to a maximum security inmate. 

An operational review into the incident was released to the Herald under the Official Information Act in response to questions prompted by the high profile escape of another prisoner, Damon Exley, who raped a stranger after breaking out of jail. 

Te Ariki Poulgrain went on the run for 10 weeks after his escape.Te Ariki Poulgrain went on the run for 10 weeks after his escape. 

A key aspect of Exley’s escape included that he was able to manipulate Corrections staff into manually downgrading his security classification, but the Herald’s queries into similar incidents revealed he was an extreme case. 

The only other prisoner who escaped custody after a recent security classification override in the past five years was Te Ariki Poulgrain, who had, in fact, recently been given an upgraded security rating. 

Poulgrain and Exley are two of thousands of prisoners who have had their security classifications manually overridden in the past five years, Corrections figures show. 

In just the 2023/24 year, there were 1849 classifications downgraded and 1555 upgraded across all prisons in New Zealand. 

A previously-unreported review into Poulgrain’s escape has been released to the Herald, revealing how even as a maximum-security prisoner he was able to break free and evade three Corrections officers in his flight. 

How Te Ariki Poulgrain escaped a maximum security medical escort 

Poulgrain, then 23, had previously been sentenced to prison for his part in an attack on career criminal and notorious double murderer Graeme Burton, who was stabbed more than 40 times. 

Poulgrain stabbed Burton at least seven or eight times during the assault. 

He has a lengthy conviction history dating back to the age of 15 and is a Killer Beez gang member. 

In June 2021, he was taken from Auckland Prison for a scheduled medical appointment at the University of Auckland Eye Clinic in Grafton. 

The review noted the three officers assigned to supervise Poulgrain on the medical escort had a combined 37 years of experience between them, and all three had experience with Poulgrain and noted his behaviour that day was normal. 

When the group arrived at the Liggins Institute for the medical appointment, Poulgrain kicked the van door as an officer went to open it, knocking the officer to the ground. Poulgrain pushed past and fled. 

Double-murderer Graeme Burton sits in a wheelchair during a court appearance in Wellington in 2007. He was attacked by a group of fellow inmates, including Te Ariki Poulgrain, 11 years later. File photo / Mark MitchellDouble-murderer Graeme Burton sits in a wheelchair during a court appearance in Wellington in 2007. He was attacked by a group of fellow inmates, including Te Ariki Poulgrain, 11 years later. File photo / Mark Mitchell 

“Prisoner Poulgrain pushed the door, hitting me and knocking me on back, I landed on my butt,” the officer wrote in his report of the incident. 

“I immediately got on my feet and joined the other two officers, giving chase trying to apprehend prisoner Poulgrain.” 

He described Poulgrain running out of the building’s basement and into public space. 

“I shouted out calling ‘prisoner, what are you doing, this is nuts’. I did not get a response. 

“At this point he crossed the road and attempted to intercept a passing car by bashing on the passenger window unsuccessfully.” 

Poulgrain continued running, and the officer flagged down a passing motorist and told them to call 111. 

The Corrections staff lost sight of Poulgrain after chasing him for seven minutes. 

The officers had described watching the prisoner run away appearing to still be handcuffed, but CCTV footage revealed he had one cuff on his right wrist and was holding another loose handcuff in his right hand. 

CCTV captured Te Ariki Poulgrain escaping the basement of the Liggins Institute in Auckland in June 2021.CCTV captured Te Ariki Poulgrain escaping the basement of the Liggins Institute in Auckland in June 2021. 

The escort plan stated he should be double-cuffed to an officer at all times when not in the closed, secure van. 

During an interview, the officer noted he had secured the long cuffs to his own wrist and was preparing to apply the other cuff to Poulgrain when he escaped. 

A GPS tracker on his ankle was also observed to have been “visibly loose”. 

The review writers concluded the escape was preventable, identifying multiple issues or failings including a lack of checks, the fact the staff member assigned as officer in charge did not assume all the duties of the officer in charge, and that the GPS tracker was not put on properly. 

A Corrections spokeswoman confirmed Poulgrain had previously had a high security classification but this was upgraded to maximum before the escape. 

Poulgrain remained on the loose for another 10 weeks. 

How does Corrections’ security classification system work? 

Prisoners receive a security classification from a points-based system. They receive points for risk factors and their classification is determined by the total number of points unless it is overridden manually by an approved staff member. 

These security classifications are reviewed at least once every six months. 

For Damon Exley, factors which influenced his classification included that he was serving a sentence of at least five years for a sexual or violent offence, that he had previous escapes and escape attempts, and that he was a recalled prisoner. 

He should have had at least 50 external risk points, which would earn a minimum low-medium security classification. 

Despite this, Exley conditioned staff to overlook his risk, and he was given a manual override downgrading his security classification to low. 

One of the key findings of the operation review into his escape included a profile of Exley, who was adept at manipulating and exerting influence over staff, including when it came to decisions about his location, activities and general management. 

He was assessed as having taken full responsibility for his offending and being motivated to attend interventions to address his reoffending, but the review noted this was an example of his skill at manipulation. In fact, he had refused to attend rehabilitative programmes. 

A later assessment failed to accurately document his behaviours, which should have caused him to be placed back on a low-medium classification. 

Exley, also known as John Douglas Willis, has seven previous convictions for escaping custody. 

During his most recent escape in 2022, he stole a guard’s uniform and pretended to be chasing an escaped criminal to flee the jail. 

While on the run, he began hitchhiking and subsequently raped a woman at knifepoint after she picked him up from the side of the road. He is serving a preventive detention sentence for the escape and the attack on the woman. 

Damon John Exley manipulated staff into manually downgrading his security classification. File photo / Mark MitchellDamon John Exley manipulated staff into manually downgrading his security classification. File photo / Mark Mitchell 

Following the operation review into Exley’s escape, which focused heavily on the security classification system, the Herald requested figures showing how many manual overrides had been carried out and how many prisoners had escaped within six months of these changes. 

In the last five years, only Exley had escaped after having his classification manually downgraded, while Poulgrain escaped shortly after his classification was manually upgraded. 

There are between 2600-3400 manual overrides to prisoner security classifications each year. Of these, there were 19 overrides from maximum security to low security in the last five years, and just one manual override from maximum security down to minimum. 

There have been six cases in that time where a low-security prisoner has been manually upgraded to maximum security. 

Prison general managers, previously known as prison directors, have the power to manually override security classifications. 

The Director, Office of the Commissioner Custodial Services can also reconsider classifications when a prisoner applies for a review under the Corrections Act 2004. 

As part of its response to the Herald’s information request, Corrections noted there were “thousands” of medical escorts for prisoners each year. 

“Over recent years we have made improvements to our systems, processes and staff training to mitigate the risk of an escape occurring.” 

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice, and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years. 

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