Latest prison escape prompts Queensland security review
The state government says it will review security at Queensland prison farms after at least four detainees escaped on separate occasions, including one fugitive who fled on a tractor.
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The state government says it will review security at Queensland prison farms after at least four detainees escaped on separate occasions, including one fugitive who fled on a tractor.
Others are leaving twice a week to get KFC, a former prisoner claims.
Michael Graeme Rennie, 43, escaped from the Lotus Glen low security prison farm on June 1, and still remained at large on Wednesday.
Rennie was serving a six year three-month term for car theft, forcing a police car off the road and drug offences.
The inmate was last seen using a $100,000 Massey Ferguson tractor at 10.20am on Sunday but was not noticed missing until a headcount at 11.55am.
The breakout follows the arrest of Johnathon Barry and John Zaro who fled from the low custody male farm at the Townsville Correctional Centre on the night of May 7.
Barry was serving two years, five months and four days for common assault and Zaro was doing four months for breach of restraining order.
Thomas Wightman, 32, escaped from Palen Creek low custody correction centre on May 29 where he was serving an 18 month sentence for serious assault.
John Connor, who was in for five years on weapons charges, also absconded from the same prison two days before and is yet to be found by police.
A former inmate at Lotus Glen said prisoners could easily walk out onto the road and because the low security set up relied on a trust system and guards did not closely monitor inmate movements.
“Being the tractor driver is the most trusted position and the highest pay and everyone wants that job,” he said.
“I would imagine (Rennie) would have used a mobile phone and organised for someone to pick him up.
“(Other prisoners) will be dirty on him and there will be a full review and driving a tractor will be very different from now on.”
The former inmate also said overcrowding and staffing issues had created a situation at the Mareeba jail he described as a “powder keg”.
Before his release the former prisoner said cells designed for a single inmate were housing three people with two forced to sleep on the floor and unsuitable prisoners were being transferred to the farm to free up space in the main jail.
“There’s a super high turn over of screws and why would you want to work there when you get called a dog and spat on, let alone turning a key on another human,” he said.
Speaking on talkback radio on Monday a delivery driver rang into the Rush Hour program with Dobba and Elliot to explain the set up at the Louts Glen, located 10km southwest of Mareeba.
“There is not even a gate on the fence, you drive straight in, there is a maximum-security prison just down the road which I dare say he will be going to if they find him,” he said on Triple M.
“He probably had a slasher on the back and was told to go down the back and do some mowing.”
Another former prisoner also revealed on the program it was common for inmates to abscond for fast food before sneaking back into a southern Queensland prison farm undetected.
“I have not escaped but it wouldn’t be hard,” he said.
“I don’t know about getting out of maximum security but in minimum security at Palen Creek they have a barbed wire fence around it but if you can jump more than 4ft it’s not hard to get out.
“(People got out) once or twice a week to go and grab a bag of KFC, the boys miss things like that.”
Premier David Crisafulli said security at prison farms needed to be reviewed.
“Whilst it might be from lower risk areas it’s still in my mind not what I would define as a fit and proper way of detaining people,” he said.
“Yes, security does have to be reviewed and we have to make sure that we ask the questions to ensure that it’s improved.”
Queensland Corrective Services declined to comment on staffing or timing of headcounts at Lotus Glen at the time of the latest escape
But a spokeswoman said security and prisoners’ security classifications, and risk factors were constantly reassessed.
“Prisoners who abscond from low security facilities are returned to high security and could potentially face an additional sentence,” she said.
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