Assaults rise in Qld jails as brutal prison paybacks trigger brawls riots and deaths
Queensland’s jails are growing more dangerous with thousands of assaults recorded and prison payback brawls forcing two facilities into lockdown and two deaths. See the prison MAP
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Queensland’s prisons became more dangerous in the past year with a rise in the number of assaults in line with a 5 per cent increase in prisoner numbers.
From eye gouging to throwing boiling jam, the state’s prisoners have vented their rage at their cellmates in some vicious attacks with one ending in a man’s death while others forced lockdowns at two major jails.
There were 2689 assaults in Queensland jails last year with 2183 prisoners attacking other inmates while 506 cases, or more than 18 per cent, were attacks on officers and guards.
The figures were up slightly from 2021 when there were 2671 assaults recorded with about 17 per cent of attacks on guards who claimed they felt increasingly like “punching bags”.
Together Union assistant branch secretary Michael Thomas said the state’s prisons were getting more dangerous and last year was one of the worst for assaults.
He said if the overcrowding trend continued, more of the state’s hardest criminals would be sleeping on bunkbeds and sharing single-cell rooms — or worse, sleeping on mattresses on the floor.
“Overcrowding means there is less ability to run adequate rehabilitation projects, which means many prisoners are often stressed or sitting around bored,” he said.
“We know there are assaults on a daily basis and officers are now more likely to be targets.
“If prisoner numbers continue to go up as rapidly as they did towards the end of last year, the system will hit full capacity and we expect more assaults.”
Queensland Correctional Services data showed in January, there were 9861 prisoners in the state system, up 4.8 per cent from 9389 in July, but no change to the number of cells or beds.
Until a new 500-bed facility being built in the Lockyer Valley comes online in 2024, the number of prison cells across the state remains at 7546 with approximately 10,754 beds.
Some of the worst assaults behind bars in 2022 took place at the high-security Capricornia Correctional Centre, north of Rockhampton, which has 750 cells and 957 beds.
In January it had 904 prisoners, the most it has ever held.
QCS data showed there had been 18 inmate deaths in 17 years at the prison north of Rockhampton in 2021.
Officers were put on alert in October after a gang of prisoners allegedly attacked a 31-year-old inmate over a $50 inside debt.
The man died a day later after succumbing to serious injuries with Queensland Correctional Services recording one murder for that month.
Prison guards were more likely to be attacked according to the data which showed a 7.8 per cent increase in assaults on officers in the six months from June to December, compared to the same six-month period the year before when there were 236 reported.
Borallon Correctional Centre, near Ipswich, west of Brisbane, was locked down in November to ensure the safety of officers and prisoners after six men climbed on to the prison roof and started pelting guards with projectiles.
There were 804 inmates in the facility at the time, a figure which dropped to 801 in January.
Woodford Correctional Centre, the state’s largest prison with 1434 prisoners, also experienced unrest in 2022.
The facility, which has a reported capacity of 988 prisoners in single cells, went into lockdown in May after inmates in a secure unit allegedly started smashing items, forcing officers to use gas on at least one inmate.
The incident was classed as “code yellow”, meaning officers needed help, with QCS registering 118 assaults across the state for that month.
Queensland’s second largest prison, Arthur Gorrie Correctional Centre at Wacol, west of Brisbane, also had its fair share of recorded assaults but no major lockdowns since the highest level “code black” incident in 2020.
Queensland Corrective Services said officer safety was always a priority with tough penalties, including a maximum of 14 years in jail, for anyone convicted of seriously assaulting a corrective services officer with aggravating circumstances.
“This is supported by safety and security equipment, including body-worn cameras and tactical gear,” a QCS spokesman said.
“Every day, our officers engage with more than 10,000 of the most challenging, complex and unpredictable individuals in society.
“While it is impossible to remove all risks associated with managing violent offenders, many of whom suffer mental health issues, QCS does everything possible to keep our people safe.”
Sworn Officers Professional Association national secretary Brendon Cook said a staff shortage had also played a role.
Here are some of the most vicious and dangerous cases that broke out behind bars in Queensland in 2022.
WOLSTON CORRECTIONAL CENTRE: February 2023
Prisoner Isaac James Martin pleaded guilty to a single count of unlawful striking causing death in February 2023. The Brisbane Supreme Court heard Martin killed body-in-a-barrel accused Zlatko Sikorsky during a violent jailhouse bashing.
Sikorsky was on remand at Wolston Correctional Centre awaiting trial for killing his teenage girlfriend Larissa Beilby and dumping her body in a barrel when he was attacked by Martin in November 2020.
Sikorsky, 37, died in hospital days later.
Martin was alleged to have struck his fellow inmate in the head, causing fatal injuries.
The court was told Sikorsky’s death was captured on video.
Interrupting proceedings, Martin told the court he “didn’t mean” to kill Sikorsky.
“I thought I was getting attacked,” he said.
Supreme Court Justice Peter Callaghan ordered a pre-sentence report be prepared before Martin’s sentencing on April 6.
TOWNSVILLE CORRECTIONAL CENTRE: January 2023
A man facing historical child sex charges was found dead in his cell at Townsville Correctional Centre on January 14.
Sagee Paul Mabo, who appeared in court in 2022 facing multiple charges, was being held in custody while he awaited trial.
Queensland Corrective Services said officers unsuccessfully tried CPR before the Queensland Ambulance Service attended but he was unable to be revived.
A full internal investigation will be conducted and Queensland Corrective Services will assist police in preparing a report for the Coroner.
CAPRICORNIA CORRECTIONAL CENTRE: OCTOBER 22, 2022
A 31-year-old prisoner died after a gruesome assault at the Capricornia Correctional Centre north of Rockhampton on October 23 at 10.30am.
Up to nine prisoners were involved in the attack, which was allegedly over a $50 inside debt.
The dead man had been behind bars for four weeks, and had three months’ remaining after facing court for drug driving and possessing drugs.
His body was found by Queensland Corrective Services officers who started CPR before he was taken to Rockhampton Hospital but died from his injuries the following day.
The death was investigated by detectives from the Corrective Services Investigation Unit, the Homicide Investigation Unit and regional investigators.
The Together Union and corrective service officers have been campaigning for more CCTV coverage at the prison for years, particularly in the wake of the October 2021 riots.
It was the fourth death in custody at Capricornia Correctional Centre in 2022, however none of the other deaths were considered suspicious.
Together Union assistant branch secretary Michael Thomas said unrest has been rife at the prison, with concerns of understaffing due to many employees taking stress leave.
He said on average, seven inmates were exiting the centre while 15 new inmates were entering.
CAPRICORNIA CORRECTIONAL CENTRE: October 23, 2022
A prisoner was hospitalised after a brawl among inmates broke out on October 23. It was the second alleged assault at Capricornia Correctional Centre, near Rockhampton, that month and followed the death of a 31-year-old man, who had suffered serious head injuries the previous day.
Paramedics were sent back to the centre, outside Rockhampton, to attend to an assault victim after a second brawl occurred following the death at the facility.
A Queensland Corrective Services’ spokesperson said no officers were injured and the prisoner was returned to the centre after medical treatment.
BRISBANE CORRECTIONAL CENTRE: September 2022
A prison psychologist activated a duress alarm before losing consciousness, when she was attacked and raped while interviewing an accused rapist, Brisbane District Court heard in September 2022.
The psychologist was interviewing Jack Christian Dillon, a 21-year-old arrested for raping a 15-year-old girl.
Dillon was on remand at the Brisbane Correctional Centre after the earlier attack on the 15-year-old girl in the Moreton Bay area in March 2021.
During the prison assault in July 2021, the psychologist stood up to leave the interview when Dillon attacked her and held his forearm against her throat, causing her to lose consciousness, the court heard. She was able to activate her duress alarm.
He was transferred to a maximum security unit and later told police that he had blacked out and didn’t know what he was doing.
In a subsequent interview, he told officers that he intended to rape the woman, “but it didn’t really work out like that”, the court was told.
Judge Orazio Rinaudo said: “In respect to the first complainant, it is clear that your actions were premeditated. You followed her and it only ended after she fought back,” Rinaudo said.
The judge said the fact that the second attack occurred in a remand prison was “devastating”.
A total of 537 days was declared as time served.
CAPRICORNIA CORRECTIONAL CENTRE: August 9, 2022
Male prisoner Ryan Thomas Clare, 43, was found dead in his cell at Capricornia Correctional Centre on August 9 2022. It was the first death at the Rockhampton prison that year with two other inmates dying in hospital.
Queensland Corrective Services said the man was unresponsive when located in a cell and could not be revived by correctional centre or ambulance officers who responded.
Police detectives from the Corrective Services Investigation Unit investigated the death in custody and a report will be prepared for the Coroner.
QCS has not indicated the cause of the death.
A male prisoner, 62 died in Rockhampton Hospital on May 11, 2022 and a 79-year-old male prisoner died in hospital on January 14, 2022. QCS said none of the deaths were considered suspicious. In August 2021, QCS data showed there had been 18 inmate deaths in 17 years at the prison north of Rockhampton.
Of the 18 deaths at the Rockhampton jail, one was from an assault by a fellow inmate and another prisoner was assaulted by prison staff.
An overdose from smuggled drugs was also the cause of another death and one prisoner died as a result of high caffeine levels.
CAPRICORNIA CORRECTIONAL CENTRE: charges June 2022
More than 60 prisoners were charged in June 2022 over their alleged involvement in one of the biggest prison riots in the history of the Capricornia Correctional Centre when a 16-hour riot started on October 21, 2021.
The male prisoners, aged between 19 and 42, were charged with riot causing damage.
The charge carries a maximum penalty of 14 years’ imprisonment.
They appeared in the Rockhampton Magistrates Court between July 11 and 22, 2022 with court hearings continuing after many were adjourned.
The riot started after maximum-security inmates were told to return to their cells as the staff were having a union meeting.
The prisoners had only been out of their cells for three hours and refused to go back in, with one allegedly throwing a “buy up crate” at a correctional officer.
The group then allegedly broke into other secure units and the garden shed where they got their hands on petrol, made molotov cocktails, inhaled, injected and ingested the petrol and were able to arm themselves with power tools.
In the wake of the riots, all of the petrol and diesel garden equipment at the centre was converted to electric.
More prisoners from residential units allegedly joined the chaos and destroyed multiple officers stations, units and cells and lit fires, defaced property with graffiti, smashed cameras, threw soft drinks as missiles and used vending machines to ram fences.
By 6pm, 60 prisoners made their way onto the roof of a building and had to be coaxed down in negotiations with corrections officers.
As a result of the damage to units and security during the riots, about 180 secure cells and 150 residential cells couldn’t be used.
BORALLON CORRECTIONAL CENTRE: July 2022
Inmate Kasie Richard Clifford Rice, 33, pleaded guilty in the Ipswich District Court in July 2022 to one count of assault occasioning bodily harm in company.
He was sentenced to two years’ imprisonment, pushing back his existing release date of April 2, 2027 to 2029. He was eligible for parole from February 2, 2023.
The court heard that on May 19, 2020, Rice, a father of five, and his co-accused Kotoni Fusi assaulted a fellow inmate at Borallon Correctional Centre on Ivan Lane, Borallon, near Ipswich. The victim had been told to get out of a unit, and that “he could go the easy way or the hard way.”
The court heard Rice and Fusi “set upon” the victim in a hallway.
Rice initiated the attack by punching the victim twice in the head. The man then received a “flurry of blows” from both Rice and Fusi before falling to the ground where the two kicked him repeatedly and stomped on his head and body.
The man sustained multiple fractures to his back, neck and nose, an injury to his spleen and a haematoma to his ear.
The court was shown closed circuit television footage of the attack and heard that the attack was likely planned.
In March 2022, Fusi was sentenced to two-and-a-half years imprisonment for the attack.
Rice had been sentenced in 2015 to four years’ imprisonment for a home invasion in which he assaulted the new boyfriend of his former partner with a soldering iron.
He was also sentenced on April 3, 2020 to cumulative periods of four and three years’ imprisonment for multiple offences of dangerous operation of vehicles in attempts to escape police.
WOODFORD CORRECTIONAL CENTRE: May 5, 2022
Prisoners at Woodford Correctional Centre, northwest of Brisbane, were involved in a riot-like incident with parts of the jail locked down in May 2022.
Inmates in a secure unit were smashing items and officers used gas on at least one of them.
It was unclear what the riot was over however an officer said a number of inmates may have been drinking prison-made brew.
Sections of the jail were temporarily locked down during the incident, described by staff as a riot, but which was originally classed as “code yellow”, meaning officers needed help.
Officers said the incident escalated to being classed as being technically a “code black” riot, however Queensland Corrective Services disputed that description.
A number of prisoners were taken out of the unit and placed in the detention.
A Queensland Corrective Services spokeswoman said one prisoner was subdued with chemical agents after being non-compliant.
No officers were injured in the incident.
It comes just days after Corrective Services charged 64 people over a massive riot at Capricornia jail near Rockhampton last year.
BORALLON TRAINING AND CORRECTIONAL CENTRE: January 2022
The high-security Borallon Correctional Centre went into lockdown after reports of prisoners standing on the roof.
The Tactical Response Officers and the dog squad responded after prisoners were seen on the roof, sending the prison into lockdown. However, no reasons were given at the time despite QCS stating the lockdown was in response to “an incident.”
BTCC is located in Ironbark, about 15 minutes out of Ipswich.
The prison holds about 500 inmates.
BORALLON TRAINING AND CORRECTIONAL CENTRE: April 2020
A prisoner had a 1kg tub of hot jam thrown on his genitals and was stabbed in a serious assault at Borallon on April 9, 2020.
A prison officer said at the time, the assault was in retaliation to the prisoner assaulting his two-year-old stepson. Some jails have had microwaves removed after baked beans were thrown over an officer at Woodford.
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