Risdon Prison inmates pen letter decrying frequency of lockdowns, demand that changes be made

A group of inmates at Risdon Prison have penned a letter complaining of poor treatment inside the facility, demanding that changes be made and describing the situation as “beyond a joke”.

Risdon Prison. Picture: Zak Simmonds

Inmates at Risdon Prison have sensationally claimed that they are kept locked in their cells for more than half the year, describing the situation as “beyond a joke”.

In a letter to Labor justice spokeswoman Ella Haddad, seen by the Mercury, a group of anonymous prisoners outlined a range of concerns about the way Risdon is managed, complaining of a severe lack of out-of-cell hours, reduced access to gym facilities and the oval, and expensive canteen items.

“We have been having several issues and concerns within the prison and are sick and tired of hearing no response from managment [sic] or same old excuses which lead to no change,” the prisoners wrote.

The group of inmates said there had been an “ongoing theme of lockdowns” inside Risdon for “at least the last 3-4 years” and that they had kept their own records “for everyday [sic] and the lockdowns have gotten worse with inmates being locked down for over half of the year”.

Risdon Prison. Picture: Zak Simmonds

“Lockdowns effects [sic] our mental health, family contact, access to programs, access to visits, access to health services. We are often in our cells for days with only food and no rubbish collection,” they wrote.

The prisoners said staff undertook training every Wednesday, which required the facility to be locked down. They have requested that these training days be “cancelled”.

They said their treatment was “beyond a joke at the moment and we have done nothing to deserve this”.

The letter was raised in a budget estimates hearing in state parliament on Monday morning, where Ms Haddad asked Corrections Minister Elise Archer and Director of Prisons Ian Thomas to respond to the concerns the inmates had expressed.

Ms Archer said the total average daily out-of-cell hours for inmates was 7.7 hours in 2021-22 and had fallen to 7.5 as at March 31 this year.

Budget Estimates, Ella Haddad MP. Picture: Chris Kidd

“It’s concerning to hear any report that inmates don’t get sufficient out-of-cell hours but I’ll let the director address those issues,” she said.

Ms Archer said the state government’s new flexible staffing strategy for correctional officers was designed to reduce lockdowns.

Mr Thomas said training shifts were “built into the Wednesdays so we can maximise the number of staff that are available to get their mandatory training”.

He said the “aim” was always to ensure that every prisoner had time out of their cell each day.

“That’s our legal requirement. The only times that won’t occur is if we’re simply not in a position to do so because staffing is so critically poor,” he said.

The government has embarked on an aggressive recruitment campaign to attract more correctional officers to the state and on Monday released a new strategic plan for corrections in Tasmania.