Serial prisoner escaper Aaron Forden is believed to be one of two men camped out in a disused tower in Paremoremo Prison.

Forden and another prisoner, an older Maori man, have refused to come down and at this stage corrections officers are going to leave them there.

Corrections' General Manager of Prison Services Jeanette Burns said the tower was within the grounds of the prison and there was "no possibility of the pair escaping, nor any danger to the community''.

The maximum security part of the prison is in lock down.

Burns would not confirm who the prisoners were but comparisons of photographs of the tower-occupiers with mugshots of Forden appear to confirm it is him.

Forden last made headlines when he escaped from the new Auckland Remand Prison, operated by private company Serco.

Burns said the prisoners were in a recreation area of the maximum security wing about 10.30am when they managed to scale the outside of the tower and gain access to a glass observation deck and barricade themselves in.

The two men can be seen in the tower from the road behind the prison. They are dressed in prison sweats and one has a blanket.

A police spokesman said they were in the tower "possibly (as) a personal protest or maybe even a foiled escape attempt".

Burns said there were no immediate plans to try to get the prisoners out from the tower and they were going to "wait them out".

"We will not put corrections officers up on the roof.

"They will probably get cold tired and hungry. They don't have any demands. We are not worried about his incident because we have got it contained.''

She said staff were unsure of whether the prisoners had managed to take any other item with them up into the tower.

A Corrections Advanced Control and Restraint team were on hand and were in constant voice contact with the prisoners.

- © Fairfax NZ News