Risdon breakout fails

A RISDON Prison breakout plot believed to have involved one of the state’s most notorious inmates has been uncovered by authorities.

The jailbreak attempt on Tuesday night involved prisoners chipping away at concrete bricks in the medium security Kara Unit.

The Mercury understands the inmates were using star pickets smuggled in from a prison garden.

The failed bid for freedom was discovered by authorities who noticed the damaged bricks around a window on Wednesday morning during the prison unlock.

The Tasmania Prison Service declined to comment on the details but confirmed “a breach of security occurred”.

“A small number of prisoners were involved, and at no time was there any risk to the community. The Tasmania Prison Service has commenced a full investigation,” a spokesman said.

“Minor damage was caused to the building by the prisoners involved. The matter has been referred to the police.”

The Kara Unit holds some of the toughest medium security inmates but is positioned furthest from officers. It is understood one of the inmates involved in the security breach was Adrian Alwyn Pickett.

The prison service would not confirm this, saying it did “not comment on individual prisoners”.

Pickett, who has a distinctive tattoo covering half his face, has previously attempted to break out of Risdon.

In 2006 he was part of a foiled jailbreak plot where he had arranged for a prison guard to smuggle in a firearm.

Police swooped on the guard, who had borrowed money from Pickett, prevent- ing him from going through with the plan. In 1998 Pickett escaped from a prison van along with other inmates.

He was granted parole in 2014 after spending 14 years in jail — all but five months of it spent in solitary confinement for up to 23 hours a day.

This followed him successfully suing the State Government for breaching its duty of care by holding him for years in solitary confinement.

A prison source said a re- cent compliance review found the jail’s outer fence had been cut and the main electric fence was only armed in one section.

The prison service said “there was no damage or breach to the external perimeter of the prison”.

Tuesday’s attempted breakout follows unrest at the prison where concerns about rising tensions in the jail have been made regarding staff shortages, overcrowding and frequent lockdowns.