Inquiry launched into SA prison system after spate of incidents, including death of inmate
A PARLIAMENTARY inquiry has been launched into SA’s prison system to examine several incidents, including one in which an inmate died after a violent altercation and another where a convicted murderer was able to escape.
THE South Australian prison system is the focus of a parliamentary inquiry that will examine incidents including the death of an inmate after a violent altercation and the escape of a convicted murderer.
A Legislative Council select committee will examine the cost and impact of jails continually operating above capacity, compare forecasted prison capacities with anticipated prison populations and determine whether overcrowding has played a part in the breakdown of proper administration.
It will also investigate a spate of incidents in SA prisons between July and October last year, including one in which an inmate died and three prison officers were injured at Yatala Labour Prison; how a convicted murderer disappeared from a Corrections program; and how two prisoners were able to tunnel under a fence at Port Augusta Prison and start a truck before they held jail officers at bay for four hours once they were noticed.
Also under the microscope will be a seven-hour siege at Port Augusta Prison, an incident where a convicted murderer and rapist was allowed to umpire an amateur football match, and the inmate who was granted leave to attend a funeral but was prevented from re-entering Yatala.
Correctional Services Minister Peter Malinauskas supported the inquiry but emphasised that there was “no jurisdiction in the world that is able to manage a correctional services system without incident”.
“I would also stress that the challenges experienced in the South Australian correctional system are not unique to South Australia,” he said.
“The challenges posed by issues such as increased prisoner populations, ageing infrastructure, longer sentences and an ageing prisoner demographic are universal and challenges that require a bipartisan approach to resolve them.”
Mr Malinauskas also reaffirmed the Correctional Services Department was committed to achieving its recently announced target of reducing reoffending by 10 per cent by 2020.
He said if this goal was met, SA would become a national leader in providing a fair correctional system that appropriately punished offenders but also prevented reoffending.
Opposition correctional services spokesman Dan van Holst Pellekaan also supported the select committee investigation.
“SA’s prisons have been operating over capacity since 2013 and, even with the Government’s promised expansions, will continue to be so until at least 2018,” he said.
“The Government’s overcrowding of our prisons puts prison officers, the public and prisoners at risk as well as making prisoner rehabilitation programs nearly impossible, which perpetuates the overcrowding – this must be acknowledged and changed.”
Mr van Holst Pellekaan said he would consider any recommendations by the select committee with an open mind.
Written submissions and expressions of interest in presenting evidence to the selection committee will be accepted until Friday, February 10.
PRISON INCIDENTS
October 25, 2016: A prisoner on remand at the Adelaide Women’s Prison is mistakenly set free following a paperwork bungle. She had a night of freedom before she was taken into custody again.
October 14, 2016: About a dozen prisoners trash the gymnasium during a siege at Port Augusta Prison.
October 7, 2016: Convicted murderer Tara Kehoe absconds from a pre-release program at Adelaide Women’s Prison. She was found dead in Adelaide’s southern suburbs in late October.
September 23, 2016: A prisoner is killed after a violent altercation with prison staff at Yatala Labour Prison
September 20, 2016: Three prisoners were able to tunnel under a fence and hot-wire a truck before they were discovered during an attempted escape from Port Augusta Prison.
September 3, 2016: A convicted murderer and rapist was used to promote a State Government-backed program allowing prerelease prisoners to umpire amateur football games.
July 2016: Robert Rigney was released from prison on home detention bail for four days to attend the funeral of his murdered sister and her two children. When he was due to return to custody, he spent 20 minutes at Yatala unsuccessfully trying to hand himself back in before he attempted to surrender at a police station where he waited for two hours. It was 76 days before Rigney was taken into custody again in late September.