Alice Springs prisoners riot, dorms trashed

Dorms were trashed as prisoners caused $20,000 in damage at the Alice Springs prison as they protested Covid-19 lockdowns.

PRISON officers had to use gas to contain inmates who were beginning to riot at the Alice Springs prison on Monday night, causing about $20,000 in damage.

Two dorms in the prison were trashed and are now “unusable”.

It took prison officers just over two hours to restore order in the prison.

United Workers Union NT secretary Erina Early said she had been speaking with guards all evening after some officers received minor injuries in the incident.

“They’re all right but they did receive some minor injuries,” she said.

“It ended up being a Code Amber — the officers were being threatened and abused.”

Ms Early said there were now up to 48 beds that couldn’t be used and NT Corrections was considering rehousing some prisoners.

It comes after the prison has seen multiple lockdowns in an attempt to stem the growth of a Covid-19 outbreak in the facility.

“Tempers are high because of the lockdowns,” Ms Early said.

“They’re getting anxious and bored and they’re starting to lash out.”

It’s understood the prison is not under a complete lockdown by prison standards but is instead under a ‘restricted movement’ order, stopping prisoners from spending as much time with others.

But the fracas is only the beginning, Ms Early said, as prison officers fear a serious riot.

It’s understood there are currently about 611 inmates at the prison, which can house up to 650.

Ms Early said she’d heard discussions that some inmates may be moved to Darwin after the dorms became unusable due to the damage.

Corrections staff are looking into who the ringleaders of the incident are, Ms Early said.

NTCS Acting Commissioner David Thompson said investigations were continuing.

“A minor staff injury was reported and an assessment of prisoners identified no injuries,” he said.

“An investigation into the disturbance is underway and damage to property and infrastructure is being assessed.”

Mr Thompson said efforts were being made to restore less restrictive movements within the prison “in a safe manner”.

It comes after a fire was lit in the prison by inmates on Friday morning.

NTPFES Southern Acting District Officer Stephen Hunter confirmed the incident on Friday.

“NT Fire crews responded to a fire in a room at the correctional facility,” he said.

“At 10.42am a pile of clothes was set alight in a dormitory, resulting in smoke in the area. Crews arrived on scene by which time the fire had been extinguished.

“The area was declared a crime scene and cordoned off to allow investigations to be undertaken by a NT Fire and Rescue Service fire investigator.”

No one was injured as a result of the fire, and investigations are ongoing, A/DO Hunter said.

NT Corrections has been contacted for comment.

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Originally published as Alice Springs prisoners riot, dorms trashed