Police union boss warns someone will be killed in a Tassie court unless security issues are urgently fixed

Someone will die in one of Tasmania’s magistrates courts unless their woeful security systems are urgently upgraded, a top union rep has warned.

• Union says security guards contracted by the state are unsafe underpaid and gagged
• WorkSafe Tasmania does not investigate most incidents

A FORMER Detective Inspector says it’s only a matter of time before a police officer, lawyer, witness or defendant is killed as the result of the Department of Justice’s failure to fix security problems across the state’s courts.

Colin Riley says the department has made a dangerous move in not acting on a WorkSafe improvement notice its secretary received earlier this year from former regulator Mark Cocker – in which it was ordered to fix safety and security issues at the state’s 11 magistrates courts by December 31 or face a fine of up to $250,000.

WorkSafe Tasmania is a division of the Department of Justice.

Following Mr Cocker’s resignation, WorkSafe said it cancelled the notice because it didn’t state how the department was breaching court security legislation.

Mr Riley, president of the Police Association of Tasmania, said he’s fearful the WorkSafe “paperwork issues” could lead to dire results, claiming police officers were attacked monthly at court.

He said the case of Derek Leslie Smith, who nearly bit off a police prosecutor’s little finger in the Hobart Magistrates Court during 2016, was an example of the dangers the force regularly faced at work.

Mr Cocker’s improvement notice said the department had contravened Court Security Act provisions and was placing workers at risk of injury and assault.

He said metal detector and x-ray screening needed to be upgraded, suggesting the installation of airport-style body scanners, and also said safe court access needed to be arranged for employees.

Mr Riley is furious that nothing has been done.

Police Association of Tasmania president Colin Riley says security at Tasmania’s magistrates courts is woefully inadequate, with police officers constantly assaulted and put in harm’s way. Picture: NIKKI DAVIS-JONES

He is continuing his fight, imploring WorkSafe to continue pressuring the department over Tasmania’s court security problems, with his complaints now referred to the Inspectorate for investigation.

But Mr Riley said it didn’t make sense to start a fresh investigation when one had already been conducted, and revealed several examples of how security flaws threatened the safety not only of police officers, but of anyone visiting a magistrates court.

He said earlier this month, a defendant used a fake government ID to access the Burnie Magistrates Court without going through the metal detector, which could have put the safety of the public at serious risk.

Also in October, Mr Riley said Launceston police struggled to protect other officers after the radio room received a call from a man threatening to shoot police in court.

He said the force struggled to get armed officers in the building after being repeatedly turned back by security, losing valuable time, and they were forced to enter via a general lobby and identify themselves at the front door in front of defendants and civilians, blowing their cover.

Once they were inside, the officers were then forced to wait in a foyer with everyone else, including whoever had made the threats to shoot police, putting their own safety at risk and losing any strategic positioning.

He described the department as “unwilling” to fix the safety issues, and questioned the process regarding the notice’s cancellation.

A government spokesperson said safety and security of judges, staff, lawyers, witnesses, professionals and the public was of “paramount importance”, but said “ultimately, court security is a matter for the courts”.

They said WorkSafe would conduct inspections during October and November.

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