Malmsbury youth jail in lockdown after attempted breakout reports
Malmsbury inmates allegedly armed with makeshift shivs have left five prison workers with injuries after wreaking havoc at the youth detention centre during a reported breakout attempt.
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A review is underway after five staff were injured during an unconfirmed attempted breakout at Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre yesterday.
The justice department has confirmed five staff were among those injured. One required hospital treatment and has since been released.
A youth inmate was also assessed for minor injuries.
Chaos erupted yesterday afternoon as inmates — allegedly armed with shivs — wreaked havoc.
One was wielding a makeshift weapon comprised of a heavy deodorant tube in a sock, the Herald Sun has been told.
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It is understood several inmates got out of the centre’s Latrobe unit after a swipe card was taken from a staff member who had been overpowered.
It is believed major mayhem was averted when officers deployed OC spray.
The centre remained in lockdown last night, with senior youth justice officials at the site.
Paramedics were called to the Mollison St facility just after 5pm and were assessing five people.
Members of the Security and Emergency Services Group (SESG) — highly trained officers — were at the scene, along with members of the Safety and Emergency Response Team (SERT).
The Herald Sun understands there has been recent rumblings within the facility that trouble was brewing.
A spokesman for the Department of Justice and Community Safety said staff had responded to an “incident” at the centre.
“Emergency response procedures were immediately enacted, and the incident was successfully contained by staff,” he said.
“Staff are to be commended for their swift and professional response to this incident.”
The incident will be reviewed by the Department of Justice and Community Safety, with referrals made to Victoria Police for investigation.
The incident follows an attack at the centre in December, where a staff member was rushed to hospital after he was knocked unconscious trying to restrain to brawling inmates.
A number of youths broke out of the troubled centre in 2017, triggering a terrifying rampage of carjackings and robberies, and even a home invasion by machete-wielding fugitives.
The latest matter also comes after a sustained period of concern about staff safety in some of Victoria’s youth justice facilities.
There were more than 100 incidents against Victorian youth justice staff in the three months to February, according to the Community and Public Sector Union.
Fearful staff said they regarded the youth facilities as more dangerous than working in adult prisons.
“If this was a building site or a mine, it’d be shut down,” one worker said last month after an inmate scaled the roof of the troubled Parkville Youth Justice Centre, hurling rocks and making obscene gestures.
“Nurses or police wouldn’t have to put up with it.”