Alice Springs prisoner’s wellbeing at risk as summer heatwaves approach

HEALTH experts have raised concerns over the lack of cooling facilities for inmates at Alice Springs prison in the lead-up to summer.

Correctional Centre in Alice Springs.

A DEBATE about whether Alice Springs Prison should be equipped with airconditioning is heating up.

A Territory health expert has warned that extreme temperatures in prisons can lead to increased rates of heart disease and death.

NT branch president of the Public Health Association Rosalie Schultz said it was concerning the severity of heat in the Alice Springs Correctional Centre was unknown.

Her comments come after an investigation revealed Northern Territory prisons do not have airconditioners — except in staff offices.

“One of the main causes of death in contemporary society is cardiovascular,” she said.

“The hotter it is, the more stress it puts on the heart.

“You see rates of heart disease and death go up when there are extremes of temperatures and particularly Aboriginal people have higher rates of heart disease, and they make up a large proportion of the prison population.

“When the temperature is over human body temperature, it is too hot. We need to go back and look at the Aboriginal deaths in custody report to make sure all the conditions are implemented.”

Despite temperatures in Alice Springs climbing to 45C plus in Summer, Attorney General John Elferink said there was adequate airflow throughout the prison.

“The prison in Alice Springs hasn’t had airconditioning for 25 years,” he said.

“I’m not entirely sure why it’s an issue now. Those prisons are designed with the conditions of the Northern Territory in mind.

“Even the new prison in Darwin does not have airconditioning. Prisons are not holiday camps.

“What they are, are institutions where people serve their time and have their misdeed penalised and their behaviours corrected so that when they come out of prison, they are far more likely to be better citizens than the day they went in.

“And we are proud of the many things that we are doing in the corrections system.”

An NT Department of Correctional Services spokesman said there were fans in common and accommodation areas of the Alice Springs prison, while prisoners are given two extra blankets and a jumper and track pants in winter.