Risdon prisoners locked down for three days out of the last seven as eye-watering cost of housing prisoners revealed

Inmates at Risdon Prison have been locked in their cells for three days in the last week because of staff shortages – as the staggering cost per prisoner per year has been revealed.

Entrance to Risdon Prison. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Inmates at Risdon Prison have been locked in their cells for three days in the last week because of staff shortages.

The Tasmanian Prison Service confirmed 72 hours of lock downs – which were described by a prisoner advocate as “unacceptable”.

“Full-day lockdowns occur infrequently,” the TPS said in a statement.

“Over the past month the Risdon Prison Complex (the Southern Remand Centre, Medium and Mainstream Maximum Units) have had four days of full lockdown) – three in the medium units, three of which occurred on 6, 7 and 8 July.

“These lockdowns occurred predominantly due to the unavailability of staff due to illness.

“The TPS continue to recruit new staff and run recruit schools on a regular basis to ensure that staff are available to fill all required shifts.”

Data from the Productivity Commission show Tasmania prisoners spend the least time outside of their cells of any prison system in the nation: an average of 7.7 hours per day which is down from 8.6 hours a decade ago.

More recent Department of Justice figures show that figure was 7.3 hours past financial year.

“This decrease can be attributed to lockdowns associated with staff shortages and for operational requirements, including system failures/maintenance,” the Department’s annual report said.

The cost of keeping a prisoner in custody in a Tasmanian Prison is $204,000 a year – the highest in the nation – but 50.4 per cent are back in jail within two years of release, the second-highest recidivism rate in the nation.

Tasmania’s prison population jumped by 21 per cent in 2022-23.

Risdon Prison has been locked down in recent days. Picture: Nikki Davis-Jones

Prison Legal Service chair Greg Barns said locking prisoners in their cells for long periods was “unacceptable and inhumane”.

“Lockdowns on weekends are particularly egregious because that is the time when families come to visit their loved ones and also because on weekends the normal programs that prisoners get during the week are not available,” he said.

“To lock someone in their cell in those circumstances is even more egregious.”

“There are two parties to blame for lockdowns. One is the unions and the other is the government – or it could be both.

“Whatever they’re doing, it needs to stop because it is inflicting enormous damage on prisoners, reducing their capacity for rehabilitation and ensuring that on release they are more at risk of reoffending.”

The Mercury understands there was also a partial lockdown at the prison on Wednesday.

“The TPS counts any period where a unit has not been unlocked at the scheduled time as a lockdown,” the TPS said.

“So even where there are short delays, such as a 20-minute delay in unlocking a unit, this would be classified as a lockdown.

“It is important to note that when lockdowns do occur, essential services and supports are still maintained where it is safe to do so.”

Comment was sought from the Community and Public Sector Union, which represents prison workers.