Staff shortages cause multiple lockdowns at Southern Remand Centre

Serious concerns for the mental health of inmates confined for days at a time in a spate of prison lockdowns have been sounded, as staffing shortages cause chaos inside the cells.

Man behind bars.

Serious concerns for the mental health of inmates confined for days at a time in a spate of prison lockdowns have been sounded, as staffing shortages cause chaos inside the cells.

The alarm was raised by the partner of a male prisoner currently held on remand at the Risdon Prison in the state’s southeast.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, the woman said lockdowns had plagued the centre since November last year.

She claimed that five lockdowns had been called in that time, each lasting several days, which left inmates confined to their cells without the ability to socialise, exercise or go outside.

“When they are locked down they are completely confined to the insides of their cells,” the woman said.

Several lockdowns have

“And these boys, they are not asking for much, they’re asking for half a day to be out and get some exercise because of how small the rooms are – no matter how many laps (of the cell) you do, you’re not going to work up a sweat to amount to exercise.”

The lockdowns have impacted the Acacia and Blue Gum units in the centre.

There are currently 128 male inmates on remand at the Southern Remand Centre, with the centre holding a capacity of 156.

Of the 128 inmates, 17 correctional staff are rostered to work at the centre.

The woman said that during phone calls with her partner, she could hear men “yelling and kicking” in frustration, and asking to be let out “for an hour”.

“At the end of the day they’re still human, they have human rights and they don’t need to be treated like animals in a cage,” she said.

“Their mental health as it is on a ledge, and the way they’re doing it now, putting those boys for four days straight of lockdowns in a cell with no communication with prisoners or anything like that, it is literally tipping them over the edge.”

The woman said the lockdowns were impacting the inmates’ mental health.

She said the men still had rights, no matter what they were on remand for.

“You can’t treat prisoners like a monkey in a zoo, they are still humans still have feelings,” she said.

“Their family are on the outside, ringing them and hearing the distress in their voice.”

Chair of the Prisoners Legal Service, Greg Barns SC, branded the lockdowns as “inhumane”, saying they effectively amounted to “solitary confinement”.

“We have had concerns for a couple of years now about the extent of the use of lockdowns within the Tasmanian prison system,” Mr Barns said.

“We are getting contact from partners and family members (who are) very concerned because of the lockdowns and they’re not able to see the prisoners, but also we’re having professional visitations and rehabilitation contact also cancelled,

He said a lack of accommodation for people on remand and parole was contributing to high prison numbers.

A Tasmania Prison Service spokeswoman said the Southern Remand Centre (SRC) had experienced “some partial lockdowns” in January.

“In the last week, the SRC (Blue Gum and Acacia) have been fully locked down on two occasions,” the spokeswoman said.

A Tasmania Prison Service spokeswoman confirmed ‘staffing challenges’ had led to lockdowns and ‘partial lockdowns’ of late.

“On other days they have had a partial lockdown which means that for part of the day inmates have been confined to their cell.”

The spokeswoman confirmed “staffing challenges have contributed to the partial lockdowns”.

“Lockdowns occur for many reasons including staffing challenges,” she said.

“A number of lockdowns have occurred in the past year due to Covid-19, when people have been required to quarantine and isolate.”

Advocacy and campaign coordinator for the Justice Reform Initiative Tasmania Patrick Burton questioned why a remand centre would be built if it could not be supported.

“The main message is it is a human resource issue; why build a prison if you can’t staff it,” he said.

Attorney-General and Minister for Corrections and Rehabilitation Elise Archer recently announced 12 new Correctional Officer graduates would get to work “immediately” across facilities including Launceston and Hobart reception prisons, the Launceston Supreme Court, Mary Hutchinson Women’s Prison, and “various units” within the Risdon Prison Complex.