Jail’s sharp decision
A YOUNG woman accused of stabbing a man to death has been given a kitchen job in jail with access to knives just weeks after her arrest, officers say.
The Gold Coast Bulletin has been told Freedom Anderson has been employed in the kitchen in a job for “trusted prisoners” inside Brisbane Women’s jail.
Anderson, 20, is accused of stabbing Nicholas Braid, 35, to death on the Gold Coast after a dispute outside a Gold Coast apartment complex in April.
She is alleged to have got into an altercation with the man before stabbing him once in the chest. Police at the time said the pair were “loosely” known to each other.
A prison officer said there were concerns about Anderson having the job and that she was already in a residential section of the remand jail.
The officer said the kitchen in the prison was similar to “any other commercial kitchen”.
“The kitchen is for trusted (inmates),” the officer said.
“No one is supervising the residential units apart from random patrols.”
A Queensland Corrective Services spokesperson said the jail was a remand centre so prisoners there had not normally spent much time in custody.
“On arrival at Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre all prisoners are assessed by a multi-disciplinary team before being assigned accommodation most suitable to their level of risk to others and themselves,” the spokesperson said.
“This process occurs in the first days of a prisoner’s arrival and, if they are deemed suitable for residential, they will be placed there, usually within two weeks of arrival.”
Prisoners had to apply for jobs and be deemed suitable for the role, as with any normal employment.
“This includes a full risk assessment of the individual,” the spokesperson said.
“All prisoners are encouraged to work and their behaviour and work performance is closely supervised by trade instructors and kitchen security.”