Fear of violence at Risdon

RISDON Prison employees are at risk of violence after the reclassification of about 70 inmates back to maximum security lockdown, union boss Tom Lynch says.

The CPSU secretary says prison staffers are noting an increase in detainees harming themselves and each other, with maximum security facilities now “chockers”.

Mr Lynch said violence between inmates was the first sign a prison was under too much pressure before staff members also faced attacks.

But Attorney-General Elise Archer, responding to the issue for the first time, said Mr Lynch’s claims were “complete nonsense”, describing his comments as a “scare campaign”.

The Mercury revealed this month Ms Archer intervened at the prison, following the jailbreak of detainee Graham Ennis, to “shanghai” long-term prisoners who had earned lowsecurity status back into maximum security.

Mr Lynch said the maximum-security section was already full, but now overcapacity, after the intervention.

“The medium units and lots of the maximum units have had to be locked down on regular occasions over the past couple of weeks,” he said.

Mr Lynch was concerned prisoners who had earned minimum-security status had been removed from their community work placements.

Ms Archer said an extra 12 correctional officers were recruited last week, making a total of 119 new staffers employed since May 2016, and that Mr Lynch should have “more faith in our hardworking” prison staff.

“Prisoner classifications are an operational matter and are reviewed on an individual basis,” she said. “This is complete nonsense from Tom Lynch who has been running a community scare campaign against the prison system.”