Another inmate release bungle sparks minister into action

ACTING Corrections Minister Jeremy Rockliff has been forced to personally intervene after the bungled release of yet another prisoner.

ACTING Corrections Minister Jeremy Rockliff has been forced to personally intervene after the bungled release of yet another prisoner.

The inmate was incorrectly released early by the Tasmania Prison Service late on Wednesday afternoon.

Tasmania Police was called in to intercept the man as he travelled to Launceston on public transport.

“The error was identified shortly after the prisoner was released. Tasmania Police was notified and the prisoner was returned to custody a short time later,” a Justice Department spokeswoman said.

It’s understood the man was taken back into custody near the Spring Hill region in the Midlands.

Authorities did not say why he was in prison or how long his sentence was.

The oversight follows a series of administrative mistakes that have seen a string of prisoners released on incorrect dates.

The latest saw Mr Rockliff issue an urgent directive to the Tasmania Prison Service to make operational changes.

A chief superintendent has been placed in charge of the sentence administration.

Complex issues regarding a sentence calculation will be referred to the Director of Prisons for sign-off before a prisoner is released.

“Outside normal business hours, any complex cases will be signed off by the rostered duty director,” the spokeswoman said.

“Following a direction from the minister, the operational changes have been made immediately, pending the establishment of the sentence management unit and the KPMG audit.”

A KPMG audit was instigated after a domestic violence perpetrator was incorrectly released two weeks early. The Mercury has been told about another case involving a family violence assailant who was released two months early while armed robber Damien Harris was released a year early in April.

Another inmate was incorrectly detained for four months after his sentence expired.

The Government has also announced a review of sentencing remissions which allow a prisoner’s sentence to be reduced by up to three months as a reward for good behaviour.

The practice has been phased out in other states.