Documents released to the Otago Daily Times showed the populations of some gangs at the Otago Correctional Facility (OCF) had stagnated, while others had ballooned.
In 2019, the Crips had 16 members or affiliates incarcerated.
However, by this year that number had jumped to 52.
Members of the Crips — described as a hyper-materialistic, hyper-violent gang largely made up of youths — were responsible for the assault of a prison warden in June, and other incidents at the prison this year.
As at July 23, of the 414 inmates at OCF, 234 were in gangs or had gang affiliations.
In January 2019, the OCF had a prison population of 483.
However, the number of gang members and affiliates was 193, according to figures obtained from the Department of Corrections under the Official Information Act.
Nationwide, 9612 people were incarcerated and 3998 of those were in, or affiliated with, a gang.
In both 2019 and 2024, the largest gang presence at the OCF was the Mongrel Mob, which in 2019 had 64 members/affiliates.
By July this year, that number rose to 71.
The Crips’ rapid rise meant they now had the second-largest gang presence at the OCF, overtaking the Killer Beez, which had grown from 29 members at the prison in 2019 to 34 this year.
The group with the largest percentage increase was the Tribesmen MC, six to 33 in the past five years — a 550% rise.
Corrections commissioner custodial services Leigh Marsh said rising gang members in the community and a larger prison population were leading to the increase.
"Corrections has seen an increase across the prison population of those with gang affiliations.
"Every Corrections-managed prison, including OCF, has a gang management plan, which responds to the unique risks at each site."
This included considering affiliation when placing inmates in units and programmes, and tattoo-removal programmes.
Other gangs that have seen large increases in numbers in the OCF include Black Power (31 now compared with 23 in 2019) and White Power (20 now compared with 15 in 2019).
The number of gangs has also increased from 18 in 2019 to 34 in 2024.
