THE REACTION
SERIOUS concerns have been raised about the “system pressures” that allowed career criminal Graham John Enniss allegedly to escape from the minimum security section of Risdon Prison using scaffolding and bedsheets.
Inmates actually prefer to be locked up alongside medium and maximum security criminals because the minimum security Ron Barwick facility in question is “cold and run down”, an ombudsman report has revealed.
Since Enniss’ escape from Risdon on Monday morning after accessing a roof and clearing a fence, a vocal contingent of union bosses and politicians has questioned how a prisoner could escape from what should be a well secured facility.
Enniss was captured by police in bushland off Downhams Rd, Risdon Vale, about 11.40am yesterday after a 27hour land and air search around the jail.
A knife was among dozens of household items recovered by police in the area where he was captured.
Police Association president Colin Riley said it “doesn’t seem right” that Enniss was being held in minimum security given his rap sheet.
In 2016, Enniss was sentenced to eight years’ for shooting at police.
Six years earlier, he pleaded guilty to attempting to escape from custody and to two charges of assault, for which he was sentenced to eight months’ jail.
“I just question why he was in minimum security, noting he has shot at police and has been reported to escape quite a bit,” Inspector Riley said.
“We don’t want to have a repeat. This ended peacefully but I do know some officers in the North-West were concerned about what might happen.
“Given the information I’ve got, minimum security doesn’t seem right. I think that’s only reasonable and I think the public think that’s reasonable.”
The key issue about Enniss’ escape was that it consumed a large number of police resources that could have been directed to “crime reduction strategies”, Insp Riley said.
A 2017-18 Custodial Inspector report into conditions at Risdon Prison found the Ron Barwick minimum security fajail cility revealed the increase in prisoner numbers created “system pressures” such as some prisoners being located in facilities outside of their prisoner classification.
“Some prisoners report that they would prefer to be accommodated in the medium or maximum security precincts of Risdon Prison Complex because the minimum security prison is cold and run down,” the ombudsman report says.
Community and Public Sector Union secretary Tom Lynch said Risdon Prison’s classification system, which is “seeing prisoners having their classifications downgraded”, was a result of overcrowding.
Corrections Minister Elise Archer thanked police for their “incredible dedication and hard work” in recapturing Enniss, who escaped alwith an accomplice who was apprehended by prison officers. Ms Archer said a full review into the escape was in progress and she would consider all recommendations.
Ms Archer said on Monday she would request a full review of prisoner classifica t ion s following questions raised about why Enniss was being held in the Ron Barwick minimum security facility.
It is understands Enniss used bedsheets and scaffolding to escape — a topic hotly debated in State Parliament yesterday.
Labor MP Shane Broad questioned Ms Archer about how a “very dangerous criminal ... with a long rap sheet, came to be in minimum security next to a scaffold” where he was able to clear the fence.
In response Ms Archer said these things should not be talked about publicly because “you are criticising those who work at the prison”.
When asked details about Enniss’ escape, a Justice Department spokesman said “it would not be appropriate to comment”.
Labor corrections spokeswoman Ella Haddad said: “This is a result of the Hodgman Government’s budget cuts and understaffing of Risdon Prison, and with more cuts to come, the situation is likely to get worse.”