Riot ‘fuelled by prison appeasement culture’, say disenchanted guards

DISENCHANTED prison officers at the Alice Springs Correctional Centre have laid the blame for Saturday’s riot at the feet of prison management as new details surrounding the riot emerge

Close up of hands, behind the bars of a prison. Istock

DISENCHANTED prison officers have laid the blame for Saturday’s riot at the Alice Springs Correctional Centre squarely at the feet of the prison management’s “culture of appeasement” as new details surrounding the riot emerge.

The NT News understands that prison officers were nearly overrun and only just contained break-out attempts as a volatile mix of overcrowding, dysfunctional facilities and insufferable heat kicked-off the riot.

According to sources within the centre, the commotion was lead by a small group who dismantled the cyclone fence adjacent to the exercise yard where prisoners were demanding ice and cordial.

Prisoners were subsequently sprayed with tear gas.

“If there was one more person attempting to breach, the dam walls could have burst,” one source told the NT News.

The riot was a response to, as prison officers described, “inhumane” and “insane” conditions in the prison.

“This is what happens when you’ve got 16 prisoners sharing a dorm with no air-con and the temperature hitting 50-degrees outside for days,” one officer said.

The oppressive heat within inmates’ cells was compounded by a defective air extraction system in the prison, leaving prisoners with little relief from the Red Centre’s ongoing heatwave.

But prison officers say the origins of the riot can be traced back to the days leading up to the break-out attempt.

The NT News understands a violent confrontation between prison officers and the same inmates involved in Saturday’s riot occurred on Sunday, December 23 in the prison’s Lima-block.

The inmates were not reprimanded for the incident, according to the source.

The lack of disciplinary action, and the subsequent riot, has further divided prison officers and management — two groups already wedged after officers passed a motion of no confidence in senior management in August.

NT Prison Officers Association Vice President and United Voice NT branch executive Daniel Symes said the chain of events over the past week exemplified a “culture of appeasement” between prisoners and senior management at the jail.

“It’s getting to the point where someone is going to get hurt,” Mr Symes said.

Earlier in the year a 62-year-old officer was king-hit by an inmate at the prison. The incident was another example, Mr Symes says, of “inadequate” punishment for violent behaviour towards officers.

“We nearly had an officer killed at the jail, and a week later the offender is back in his cell with full privileges” Mr Symes said.

“What message does that send?

“The culture of management — I don’t know if it’s a lack of expertise, funding, or if they’ve lost touch with the way it is on the ground — needs to change.”

The NT Correctional Services Commissioner Scott McNairn travelled to Alice Springs on Monday to inspect the facility.

Mr Symes said the commissioner, who cut his holiday short to fly to the centre, was “a straight shooter who seems to be genuine in his commitment” to fix the issues plaguing the prison.

The commissioner has been contacted for comment.