Capricornia Correctional Centre: Queensland Corrective Services and Queensland Police to reveal riot charges and internal review findings

Dozens of prisoners have been charged and more are expected to follow after what was dubbed one of the worst prison riots in the history of the Capricornia Correctional Centre. Here’s what we know.

Acting Detective Inspector Anthony Buxton and Chief Superintendent and General Manager of the Capricornia Correctional Centre Richard Butcher.

It was one of the biggest riot incidents in the history of the Capricornia Correctional Centre and now the first charges have been laid over the incident that sent the Rockhampton region prison into lockdown last year.

The riot broke out just months after a review into the workplace culture at the Capricornia Correctional Centre was launched after concerns were raised by prison staff and union leaders.

Forty-five prisoners, aged between 20 and 41, have all been charged with one count each of riot causing damage, but more are expected to be charged in the coming weeks.

Over the past six months investigators have combed through more than 2300 still images, completed more than 200 prisoner interviews, taken 100 statements from correctional officers and watched hundreds of hours of CCTV footage.

General manager of Capricornia Correctional Centre, Chief Superintendent Richard Butcher, said the Code Black was “the most significant incident” in the prison’s history.

He claimed the riot began in a secure unit where a number of prisoners allegedly started causing damage and “very quickly” gained exit from the exercise yard and breached the security of the centre.

Chief Superintendent and General Manager of the Capricornia Correctional Centre Richard Butcher.

The riot then allegedly spread to another four secure units.

“They gained control of the secure compound, accessed rooftops, accessed the top of the education block, and gained access to a secure store which contained up to 20 litres of petrol and garden equipment and gained access to the residential compound which contains about 300 prisoners,” Chief Superintendent Butcher alleged.

Chief Superintendent Butcher claimed the prisoners allegedly involved caused “significant damage” to infrastructure, defaced aspects of the prison through graffiti, sniffed petrol and threatened officers and inmates with molotov cocktails.

At the height of the incident about 70 prisoners were on the roof of the facility.

As a result of the damage to units and security during the riot, about 180 secure cells and 150 residential cells couldn’t be used.

Because of this, some prisoners had to be doubled up in the accommodation available, with modified unit routines introduced.

The units lost were back up and running about six weeks after the riot once repairs had been done by QBuild.

“If prisoners want to engage in this totally unacceptable, destructive and violent behaviour, then we must hold them to account,” Chief Superintendent Butcher said.

Chief Superintendent Butcher commended the staff at the correctional centre for their efforts during the unrest.

“We had a tremendous tactical response group who were highly trained,” he said.

Extensive damage as a result of the 16-hour riots at Capricornia Correctional Centre.

“They were brave staff who walked onto that compound and retook the prison compounds that had been taken from us.

“Standing shoulder to shoulder were inexperienced young officers alongside highly trained, experienced tactical response officers and very quickly they managed to secure that ground to the effect where we had a small group of about 40 prisoners on top of the activities hall roof.”

Acting Detective Inspector Anthony Buxton said the investigations had been “significant” with the first charges being a “major milestone” in the investigation.

The arrests were made as part of the joint Queensland Police Service and Queensland Corrective Services statewide Operation Tango Roadtrain.

He said each prisoner charged would have their own briefs and facts when they went before the courts.

“Notices to appear were issued today (Friday) and this week for all offenders to appear in the Rockhampton Magistrates Court for a two-week period,” he said.

Acting Detective Inspector Anthony Buxton.

“We’ve worked very closely with the Magistrates Court to ensure maximum utilisation of the courts and have them all appear before the singular magistrate in the same district the offending occurred.”

Act Det Insp Buxton said while the first charges had been laid there were still investigations continuing and more prisoners alleged to have been involved in the riot were expected to be charged in the coming weeks.

He said the maximum penalty for the ‘riot causing damage’ offence was 14 years imprisonment.

“Ultimately what we wanted to do was ensure when the matter went to court they were put together primarily as one item in a set period of time, because the logistics of hearing all these matters before the court is significant,” he said.

“They’ve all been charged with the same offence; riotous behaviour covers a broad spectrum of behaviours, so ultimately they all combine to make that one charge.”

While most of the damage allegedly done during the Code Black has been fixed, Queensland Corrective Services still could not put a monetary figure on the damage caused.

Acting Detective Inspector Anthony Buxton and Chief Superintendent and General Manager of the Capricornia Correctional Centre Richard Butcher.

A tender was awarded in February to a Brisbane firm, Phillips Smith Conwell Architects, for the Principal Consultant contract for $114,104.65 for the Capricornia Correctional Centre expansion project.

Chief Superintendent Butcher said prison staff had done “significant work” to look at internal procedures and routine tasks and duty of care to staff following the riot.

“Immediately after that incident I think all correctional centres did an audit on the security of their gardening equipment and motorised gardening tools such as lawnmowers,” he said.

“We made the decision very early on to convert all our petrol or diesel driven garden tools to electric.”

He said investigations into the actual cause of the incident were ongoing through an internal review team.

All the prisoners that have been charged so far are expected to face the Rockhampton Magistrates Court between July 11 and 22.

Originally published as Capricornia Correctional Centre: Queensland Corrective Services and Queensland Police to reveal riot charges and internal review findings