Risdon Prison Complex - Inquiries Into Facilities

Inquiries Into Facilities

In 1999, a Tasmanian Parliament Committee reported that the number of cells far exceeded any likely requirements at the time of construction or since. The Committee reported that the Corrective Services Division advised that between 1992 and 1997 the entire prison system had an average of between a total of 250 and 300 inmates spread through all the facilities. The Committee reported that the facility is "fundamentally inappropriate":

It operates as a series of cages and cells which open to exposed yards. It is devoid of any of the normal features of a dwelling or residential facility. The only institution in our society with which this facility could be closely compared is a zoo. It would be difficult to design an institution which would be more calculated to promote an alienated sub-culture, entirely inconsistent with desirable normal social behaviour and values.

A 2001 report by the Tasmanian Ombudsman stated:

No prison is a pleasant place, but the Risdon Prison is a particularly unpleasant place. It is bleak, cold and grey and, even if a very large amount of money were to be spent on the facility, it is unlikely that it could ever conform to contemporary prison standards. The buildings reflect years of relative neglect by successive governments and even when it was built, forty years ago, the Prison would have been out of date and totally inappropriate in its design for the rigours of a Tasmanian winter. Moreover, it was built as a Maximum Security Prison and remains so, even though the demand has never been for a full maximum security facility. When additional stresses, such as an unexpected surge in prisoner numbers or a significant change in the nature of the prisoner population occur, as has happened at Risdon, there is an inevitable strain on resources and management. Staff morale drops, inmate unrest and dissatisfaction escalate and the system begins to crack. This is what had happened at Risdon, and had been happening for a significant period of time prior to the investigation.

The Ombudsman's Report follows a coronial inquiry into five deaths in custody that occurred between August 1999 and January 2000. In March 2011 the Coroner found that in four of the five cases, management of the complex:

...failed to provide a physical environment which would minimise the risk of self harm and a system of care which would recognise a vulnerability to suicide and actively promote steps to prevent it.

The Ombudsman reported again, this time in 2010, when he initiated an investigation of his own accord following receipts of a number of compliants during 2007 and 2008 which made him concerned about the conditions under which the prisoners in the high risk management unit, called Tamar, were being held. In his report, the Ombudsman commented that:

I was concerned that the conditions in Tamar might not be humane.

Further, he found:

that there is no formal practice for informing prisoners of the reasons for their placement in the unit, and that the management of the unit does not comply with national or international standards in this regard.

that prisoners are not adequately informed about the rules and conditions which apply to them in the unit, and that this is not compliant with national standards.

that prisoners have been held in the unit for indeterminate periods of time, on the basis of perceived dangerousness, and that this is incompatible with national standards and standards observed in other jurisdictions.

that the BMP has not always been applied consistently and objectively.

that the monthly reviews of a prisoner's performance under the BMP are not carried out with procedural fairness, in that prisoners are not notified in advance of any perceived problem with their behaviour, are not therefore given a fair opportunity to respond, and are not given prior warning of a proposed sanction. There have even been cases of reviews without the prisoner being present.

that not only are prisoners in the unit locked down in solitary confinement for most of the time, but they have nothing constructive to do, since no programs or industry activities are available to them. The principal distraction is television. This circumstance is not humane, and does not meet standards adopted in the United Kingdom or standards promulgated by the Inspector of Custodial Services in WA, which in my view are indicative of proper practice.

In 2010, Mick Palmer, a former Commissioner of the Australian Federal Police, was requested by the Minister for Corrections and Consumer Protection, Nick McKim to undertake an inquiry into the Risdon Prison Complex, with the intention of providing the Government of Tasmania with impartial, objective and accurate advice on the complex's operations. Amongst his findings and recommendations, in 2011 Palmer commented that:

...there is currently a lack of clear and decisive leadership within the TPS and RPC . Further, there is a high level of distrust between management and staff, where operational practices have served to cause staff to withdraw from interaction with prisoners, compounding into excessive lockdowns (particularly of maximum security rated prisoners) and, overall, to apply what can only be described as little more than containment policy across the prison as a whole.

One of the outcomes of the Palmer Report was the employment of a prison administrator and a prison inspector to help rid the prison of serious cultural problems.