Tip-off ‘prevented jail riot’ after Zachary Rolfe murder charge

THE quick thinking of prison officers acting on a tip-off averted the potential for a race-based jail riot on the day after Constable Zachary Rolfe was charged with murder

Constable Zachary Rolfe is charged with murder over the fatal shooting of Kumanjayi Walker at Yuendumu

• JUDGE denies Rolfe’s application to have case moved
• ROLFE lawyers apply to have case shifted to Darwin

THE quick thinking of prison officers acting on a tip-off averted the potential for a race-based riot at the Alice Springs jail on the day after Constable Zachary Rolfe was charged with murder.

Prison sources say the indigenous inmates had planned the riot in the industries section of the jail as news filtered in that Constable Rolfe had been charged over the shooting death of Kumanjayi Walker at Yuendumu.

But a tip-off from two Aboriginal prisoners alerted staff to the potential danger, with officers then shutting down the industries section.

A prison source said several violent offenders had hatched the plan to attack non-indigenous inmates and staff, steal officers’ keys and release inmates.

But not everyone was on board with the plan.

“There were one or two Aboriginal prisoners that became quite concerned it was going to kick off,” a source said.

“They didn’t want to get caught up in it and they brought it to the attention of other staff members.”

The Immediate Action Team was then deployed to oversee the shutdown of the area. Most inmates were taken back to their cells while the instigators were taken to the superintendent’s office.

The incident happened on Thursday, November 14. The industries section – which doesn’t operate on weekends – remained closed until the following Monday.

A source said the situation could have been a disaster if not for the tip-off.

“They would have been able to arm themselves with all manner of things – steel bars, timber poles, power tools,” they said.

“We would have been lucky if somebody wasn’t killed.”

But there were ongoing fears for staff and inmate safety as the Rolfe case proceeds.

“At the moment I don’t believe the management team are putting in place plans to deal with this,” one source said.

“If they are they certainly haven’t shared it.”

The Corrections Department declined to answer questions about the incident, or what steps had since been taken.

“Security measures at NT correctional facilities are confidential,” a spokeswoman said.

“NTCS does not make public the procedures that maintain the good order of the Alice Springs Correctional Centre.”

LIMITED TIME offer: NT News subscription – 50 per cent off* for the first 12 weeks

The industries section sits inside the jail’s main walls and sees inmates supervised while they use equipment including power tools.

Constable Rolfe’s case will return to court Thursday, where a judge will decide if the hearing should be moved from Alice Springs to Darwin.