Women’s prison cooking teacher threatened with knife
A young inmate at a maximum security women’s prison is accused of threatening a cooking teacher with a knife in a serious security breach inside the prison.
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A female prisoner allegedly put a knife to her cooking teacher’s neck in a major security scare.
The young inmate is accused of grabbing the knife and threatening to injure the male educator during a cooking class at the maximum-security Dame Phyllis Frost Centre on Wednesday.
The “serious incident” is being investigated by police and WorkSafe.
The motive for the alleged attack is unknown, however previous interactions between the teacher and inmate will form part of the investigation.
Questions will also be asked about the screening process for inmates accepted into the course given the access to knives and other makeshift weapons.
The Sunday Herald Sun understands the knife remained tethered to a platform throughout the incident.
It is believed the inmate grabbed the teacher by the arm and put the knife to his neck while he supervised a class in the educational precinct.
WorkSafe investigators attended the prison in Ravenhall in Melbourne’s west on Thursday.
A Department of Justice and Community Safety spokesman said it was taking the matter seriously.
The teacher, contracted to the prison, has been offered support.
“A serious incident involving a prisoner and a staff member at Dame Phyllis Frost Centre was quickly resolved by prison staff,” said the spokesman.
“Support has been provided to the staff member, while the prisoner has been separated from the rest of the prisoner population.”
It is understood the prisoner remains in isolation as she undergoes a mental health assessment.
She is a remand prisoner and had not been there long.
Her suitability to continue the hospitality course will be reassessed by prison officials.