Security threats on the rise in Tasmanian courts as six guards rugby-tackle fleeing Prisoner

On the first day of 2025 for Hobart Magistrates Court a female prisoner’s escape attempt took six guards to quash.

Hobart Magistrates Court.

A female prisoner made a dramatic escape attempt in Hobart Magistrates Court on Thursday, screaming for her mother as she was tackled by six security guards.

The incident occurred on the first working day of the year for Tasmania’s busiest court, which has seen a steady rise in both case numbers and violent incidents year on year.

The woman, who cannot be named as she intends to apply for bail, is on remand facing multiple charges, including a dozen counts of stealing, aggravated burglary, several drug offences, and driving under the influence and without a licence.

Dressed in a tracksuit, she appeared increasingly agitated during her 20-minute appearance, crying, yelling and pleading with Magistrate Chris Webster to release her from custody, saying she couldn’t “do anymore time”.

In the public gallery, her mother and another female supporter quietly wept.

As her matter concluded, the woman was being led back to the holding cells when she suddenly broke out of the dock, running towards the courtroom door.

Two security guards tried to restrain her, but she fought back, screaming “Mum! Mum!”, as her mother watched on in tears, but did not intervene.

After a struggle that was getting increasingly out of hand, four more security guards ran into the courtroom, and Magistrate Webster was escorted out. The guards pinned the prisoner to the floor and the wall where they were eventually able to detain her.

Mumbling “sorry, I’m sorry” the woman was escorted, crying, to secure holding cells beneath the court.

Returning to the courtroom minutes later, Magistrate Webster remarked, “well, that was an eventful start to 2025”.

Violent incidents in courts around the state are on the rise.

The Magistrate court’s 2023/2024 Annual Report noted an increase in security-related incidents, attributed to improved reporting by security officers and “the heightened behaviour of court attendees”.

In 2023/2024, magistrates courts across the state listed 191,605 matters —a more than 10 per cent rise compared to the previous year.

The report highlighted the “steady increase in case lodgements across all jurisdictions,” which has “created significant challenges for court staff”.

In May 2024, a security manager was appointed on a two-year fixed-term basis, with the expectation that the position would become permanent due to the growing demands on Tasmania’s court system, the report said.

Recent security upgrades at the Hobart Magistrates Court include the installation of multiple “lockdown” buttons.

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