Men on top of the Belconnen Remand Centre

Police in South Australia reported a surge in sudden deaths, with 19 people dying on Friday in the state capital Adelaide, 14 of whom were elderly.

Now remind me again why I should give a flying fork about two crims who deliberatly broke out onto a swealtering roof?

I think another couple of months added to their sentences should suffice.

More’s the pity.

The Australian is reporting at least 19 heat-related deaths in South Australia.

Well, at the end of the day it won’t be up to you.

Cheaper to give them all day cinema tickets and free transport to and from their closest cinema.

How many elderly people will die from heat related causes in Aus this ferocious summer? I’d see every elderly persons home fitted with air con, and the cost of running it paid for by the tax payer, before I’d even consider forking out a cent on the ner-do-wells dancing on BRC’s roof.

I couldn’t agree more. Punish offenders so harshly they will never reoffend.

Temptations.Bad choices.Mistakes.my deterrents were floggings from my old man, a kick up the arse from officer krupke,loss of freedom.these clowns need it drummed into their heads, f##k up pay the penalty.My rehabilitation _punish them so they won`t do it again, word gets around.

People go to prison for breaking the law. They’re not always good laws and they’re not always serious offences.

People can be imprisoned for conscientious objection. People can be imprisoned for practicing their religion. People can be imprisoned for speaking out about things they believe in.

People can be imprisoned because nobody will believe a dingo took their baby.

They are not necessarily less than you, and not necessarily much different.

Are you telling me you’ve never broken the law? Seriously! Because if you’ve ever broken any law whatsoever how are you any better and how are you not a hypocrite?

I bet Alan Bond never imagined he’d wind up in gaol. Temptations. Bad choices. Mistakes. Regrets. Life. It happens to us all.

A young boy I once loved was convicted of joy-riding in cars and has been a responsible, respected, productive member of society for decades.

Maybe they’re all so evil and wicked they deserve to be locked in hot cars until dead. Maybe they’re all such worthless trash that it doesn’t matter if some old geezer carks it in the heat.

I just thought that human life was more valued than that in this country I love.

Granny said :

It is not too hard for an active parent body to raise money for air-conditioning, even if it is only one area at a time.

Maybe the prisoners’ families could start organising some cake stalls.

johnboy said :

Also people bear in mind this is a remand centre. People there have not yet been convicted.

You forget that there are most likely convicted crims in there, seeing their new airconditioned hotel isn’t open yet and that NSW hasn’t been accepting new prisoners.

Granny said :

Kids get sent home from school if the temperature gets too hot.

Our school had it installed because they felt it was necessary, particularly since many of the children are frail or can have seizures triggered by the heat.

It is not too hard for an active parent body to raise money for air-conditioning, even if it is only one area at a time.

The occasions on which kids would be sent home because of the heat would probably be practically none, given that most children would need to be released into the care of the parents.

Anyway, if stanhopeless didn’t waste our money making sure the new prison/hotel was “human rights compliant” instead of making sure the security system functioned the poor dears wouldn’t be on the roof whinging like babies.

If they get airconditioning, I expect stanhopeless to fund the installation of it at my place too yes?

I saw a news story on tv recently about a hospital in Sydney (Manly?) with no airconditioning. Apparently it’s likely to be closed in the next few years so they aren’t going to spend money on any upgrades now. Somehow I care more about that.
Nevertheless, I grudgingly admit that Granny is right, as civilised people we shouldn’t be slowly cooking the incarcerated of our society. The greenies say a well-designed building shouldn’t need airconditioning (the new place doesn’t have it, right?). Maybe there are some low tech measures that could be taken to help the situation. Anyone remember hanging wet towels in windows? Okay, there might be a shortage of suitable windows but I do think Coolgardie Safe has a certain ring to it.

I’ve just emailed HREOC.

Hello,

Following these news stories today:

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/01/30/2478007.htm
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,27574,24983701-5006009,00.html
http://www.canberratimes.com.au/news/local/news/general/belconnen-detainees-come-down-from-roof/1420514.aspx

I am deeply concerned in relation to the fact that the Belconnen Remand Centre in the ACT apparently does not have environmental climate control. I believe this could pose a risk to the health and safety of some of the prisoners currently being remanded there.

I would like to know who I should complain to and how I go about making such a complaint.

Thanks,

I do hope they get extra time added to their sentences,to recognise the waste of police and other services time and money they have caused!

question – why did the police find them again and not the custodial officers? maybe they were in front of their fans

Genie said :

Surely a little air conditioning is not that hard to provide?

Most schools don’t have air conditioning.. only fans. Why should people who break the law be entitled to better comforts than our future generation ????

Because we send the kids home when it gets too hot and don’t want to do that with remandees?

Genie said :

Surely a little air conditioning is not that hard to provide?

Maybe all the con’s can get naked and blow on each other. Er, hang on… that didn’t come out right….

Kids get sent home from school if the temperature gets too hot.

Our school had it installed because they felt it was necessary, particularly since many of the children are frail or can have seizures triggered by the heat.

It is not too hard for an active parent body to raise money for air-conditioning, even if it is only one area at a time.

Surely a little air conditioning is not that hard to provide?

Most schools don’t have air conditioning.. only fans. Why should people who break the law be entitled to better comforts than our future generation ????

Here’s a fantastic idea!
A few sheets of A4 and Bob’s your uncle. To be environmentally friendly you could even use recycled office paper. Problem solved!

NoAddedMSG You have a great protest. Forget the roof. Out front with nothing but lab coats and hot underwear. With the right collection of fishnet stockings, bras, G strings and fans, you will get your photo opportunity. All you need is a media release, a snappy slogan and a sign. You might get page 3. You might get the holy grail of protest, the front page.

Possibly, Tylers. It would be getting to me more if I was locked up in Belco Remand Centre.

I guess I just know that I’ve made mistakes. I don’t presume that I am good and they are evil, only that we are human and they’ve made worse choices along the way.

Have I never broken the law? I wish I could say that I haven’t, but I have. So have most people when you look at it. It’s often just a matter of degree.

Coming up next:

Prisoners complaining about the standard of their food refuse to eat anything but gruel.

I think you should remember that it could have been you or me in there, Tylers. I really think we should think about that.

Wha?! How Granny? Is this heat getting to you – you sound delirious!

NoAddedMSG said :

Stay tuned for news reports on people wearing nothing but lab-coats protesting on a roof.

Good for you, NoAddedMSG! Whomever your union rep is should be sacked, that’s for sure.

I think you should remember that it could have been you or me in there, Tylers. I really think we should think about that.

Personally, I’d like to go down there and squeeze my size 9 Clarks in their ace and see how they like those conditions!

I hadn’t thought about protesting on the roof. Where I work (indoors) is usually about 2 – 3 deg above ambient temp, definately no air-con. Usually when it hits above 34 deg we start filing OH&S incident reports which makes us feel a bit better as it generates a huge amount of paperwork for people in the organisation who spend their days in nice air-conditioned offices. However, that approach has yet to lead to anything actually being done. Stay tuned for news reports on people wearing nothing but lab-coats protesting on a roof.

Oh, BerraBoy, that would be fantastic! You’re buying I hope ….

; )

Granny said :

BerraBoy68, you know I love you also (I would jolly well hope by now!) but I find the idea of rape distressing beyond belief no matter who it’s happening to.

It comes down to, ‘Are we civilised or not?’

Do we take pleasure in the misfortunes of others because they ‘deserve it’ or do we take the higher ground and walk the nobler path?

Do we allow old guys to die from heat exhaustion because someone on duty might not take them seriously if they’re in distress, or because it was too sudden to be noticed and dealt with?

If you’re going to incapacitate someone – effectively prevent them from caring for themselves – then you have a responsibility to care for them effectively.

If you felt for a moment that the heat was too much for one of your children you would remove them from that environment or change the conditions of that environment to make it safe.

That is what I’m talking about.

You know I don’t take the idea rape lightly, granny and perhaps the Remand Ctr coulpd be cooler (never been there, never want to) but I’m just saying I’m not sure why these guys should get a comfortable life just because they’re in the care of the authorities when law abiding folks can’t.

That said, perhaps we can talk this over over a chardonnay at trivia on Monday?!

dexi said :

“Over-exposure to heat is no laughing matter.”

Only if banged up nincompoops chose to expose themselves to it.

Point noted.

You make a very good point, Dexi. Kudos!

BerraBoy68, you know I love you also (I would jolly well hope by now!) but I find the idea of rape distressing beyond belief no matter who it’s happening to.

It comes down to, ‘Are we civilised or not?’

Do we take pleasure in the misfortunes of others because they ‘deserve it’ or do we take the higher ground and walk the nobler path?

Do we allow old guys to die from heat exhaustion because someone on duty might not take them seriously if they’re in distress, or because it was too sudden to be noticed and dealt with?

If you’re going to incapacitate someone – effectively prevent them from caring for themselves – then you have a responsibility to care for them effectively.

If you felt for a moment that the heat was too much for one of your children you would remove them from that environment or change the conditions of that environment to make it safe.

That is what I’m talking about.

“What better way to whinge about the lack of air-con, than to stand in the hot 35+ degree sun for a few hours.”

It actually is a very effective protest. One used all over the world. For prisoners to have access to the media the roof is the only place. This seems to be a peaceful protest that has got its message across. Well done boys.

The only thing I would have changed is hotter prisoners in tighter shorts.

But don’t you think it would have been somewhat cooler inside their cells, rather than in the direct hot sunlight?

Instant Mash said :

Well I spent my entire day working in a hot kitchen, with no air conditioning. And I definitely found their idea stupid!

Because one person didn’t drop dead in the heat doesn’t mean another won’t. An older person struggling in your hot kitchen today could have gone home.

Granny said :

Must I?

; )

But that also raises the other point from the other thread about the increase in violence in the hot weather.

It’s plain silly not to have it in a place like that.

Granny – you know I love you but… my house doesn’t have air conditioning and I haven’t slept properly in over a week. Do I get my wife and kids to help me commit a crime so the Gov’t will lock us up in an air conditioned cell?

Taking JB’s point, I’d like to see how concerned these guys end up being about air conditioning if they’re eventually found guilty of whatever they did and imprisoned.

There’s nothing quite like being sodomised by ‘bubba’ to help you get things in perspective.

“Over-exposure to heat is no laughing matter.”

Well said Granny.

They have no chance to escape it.

Well I spent my entire day working in a hot kitchen, with no air conditioning. And I definitely found their idea stupid!

Well, if I was locked up in this heat it would certainly encourage me to try and escape.

I don’t have air-conditioning either, Mr Evil, but there are a number of things the kids and I can do to cool down because we are free to decide what we want to do and when we want to do it, or if we want to sit out under a shady tree for a while or hang out in an air-conditioned building.

My kids are running around in their underwear eating chocolate paddle pops. There are things you can’t do when you’re locked in a room with other people.

I don’t know where you work, so I can’t comment, but I would assume that most people could go home from work if the heat got too much for them.

Over-exposure to heat is no laughing matter.

I’ve been laughing my arse off over this all morning!

What better way to whinge about the lack of air-con, than to stand in the hot 35+ degree sun for a few hours.

“Check out the fifth image in the Daily Telegraph’s gallery of these two clowns. A bit of an insight as to the preferred position in the big house.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/gallery/0,22056,5037196-5010140,00.html

Friday arvo gold. Do yourself a favour…..”

LMAO

“Top man in Belconnen Remand Centre bottom”

But you’re not spending 24 hours a day at work, I assume…

Deadmandrinking said :

I see quite a few of you have some very developed fantasies of what goes on behind those walls. Maybe you should get yourselves thrown in.

I’m shocked the place doesn’t already have decent air conditioning. There’s a huge difference between providing luxury and basic needs. I think air-conditioning, in a small place like the remand centre, falls into the latter category. You want prisoners to be alive so they can serve their sentences.

I work in an establishment where a lot of the buildings here do not have any form of air conditioning either.

Poor damn prisoners – I honestly feel so sorry for them, I really do!

I see quite a few of you have some very developed fantasies of what goes on behind those walls. Maybe you should get yourselves thrown in.

I’m shocked the place doesn’t already have decent air conditioning. There’s a huge difference between providing luxury and basic needs. I think air-conditioning, in a small place like the remand centre, falls into the latter category. You want prisoners to be alive so they can serve their sentences.

So they came down before their feet stuck to the roof?

Pommy bastard said :

The prisoners still want the two Cokes and ice-creams they were promised by negotiators and said they would continue to appeal for McDonald’s and a box of cigarettes

What, no vaseline?

They look like a loving couple.

Check out the fifth image in the Daily Telegraph’s gallery of these two clowns. A bit of an insight as to the preferred position in the big house.

http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/gallery/0,22056,5037196-5010140,00.html

Friday arvo gold. Do yourself a favour…..

They both sound like they are craving a big gulp cock coke

The prisoners still want the two Cokes and ice-creams they were promised by negotiators and said they would continue to appeal for McDonald’s and a box of cigarettes

McDonalds? Surely that is against the ACT Bill of Rights?

Maybe one of them is the Hamburgular?

The prisoners still want the two Cokes and ice-creams they were promised by negotiators and said they would continue to appeal for McDonald’s and a box of cigarettes

McDonalds? Surely that is against the ACT Bill of Rights?

Seeing they are on the roof, where will they throw their gherkins?

The prisoners still want the two Cokes and ice-creams they were promised by negotiators and said they would continue to appeal for McDonald’s and a box of cigarettes

Obviously men of simple, if rubbish, tastes.

Think of all the unresolved sexual tension with all those topless, hot and sweaty bodies crammed in together.

Love your work!

How long till the new jail is ready?

Thanks for the support, Gungahlin Al!

: )

It’s not just this government though, presumably. The trick is more to realise there’s an issue and fix it than worry about whose fault it is, I think.

As long as somebody does something. Do you think maybe I should raise it with the Human Rights commissioner?

I would really like to know that something has been done, and I don’t know how I would find that out.

Special G: If their wits were that sharp, you’d think they would have managed to avoid ending up the BRC in the first place.

Whats the bet they decided to try to escape and got to the roof then found the razor wire so called it a protest instead.

It’s pretty hot outside now – I bet that roof would fry an egg.

Sage words granny. Amid the stupidity of the day and place they chose to do it, there is the gravity of a chronic failure of governance by the ACT ALP.

Must I?

; )

But that also raises the other point from the other thread about the increase in violence in the hot weather.

It’s plain silly not to have it in a place like that.

Think of all the unresolved sexual tension with all those topless, hot and sweaty bodies crammed in together.

How hot can it get?

Nope!

But older Australians die all the time in heatwaves. I am just wondering how safe it is to keep people locked up in extreme temperatures without any way of cooling down on their own determination.

Those guys may be young and fit but there might be some old drunk in there who’s really struggling.

I believe such places should be air-conditioned and I’m actually shocked to discover that it’s not.

granny – is one of these guys your grandson perchance?

Protest? What protest?

Two prisoners are caught trying to escape and then they decide to stay on the roof.

(By the way, it’s all over red rover. Stop taking bets).

I reckon it’s a really cool thing to do! Bit of drama to start the day. Something a bit different. And I think for all the talk about human rights, I am surprised they don’t have air conditioning if they are keeping people locked away in weather like this.

We didn’t have air conditioning at school and they would send us home if it got too hot. I am stuck in the heat at home, but at least I can choose different ways to cool down that wouldn’t be an option in an institution such as a remand centre.

Let’s face it – no-one is sending these guys home if it gets too hot. They should have air conditioning and they should have someone installing it today.

How hot does it have to get?

Send them to the new jail – its been open for months. Oh wait ….

4.10 today, because everyone wants to be home for tea. Who is putting up the prize?

Yeah I reckon around 5pm

nah I recon 3pm today – keel over from heat stroke!

Not unlike that add for that roofing company in the ACT. You know the one where the guys are linked arm in arm singing and dancing. That buisness should get down there ASAP and start cashing in.

Is there any RA folks on the scene? Would love to know how the roof restoration is going?

Anyone care to take bets when this will be resolved?

I go with 9:20pm tonight, taken down with force.

Neither hats nor gum tree shade will help them today – the reflection off the roof itself will see to that.

So tell me – is there anyone out there still with doubts about Charles Darwin’s theory?

there is a photo of the protestors on SMH now which you could thieve for here JB….

Would keep them cool.

There is the fire station next door with a tower. Run a hose up the tower, point it at the roof and open it up 😀

They probably should build a whole new prison to take the pressure off….

Actually JB, that’s not strictly correct. People who have been convicted and are awaiting sentencing are held at BRC – this is one of the reasons it’s a maximum security (apart from the roof it seems) facility. There are also times when convicted and sentenced prisoners are held there either awaiting transfer to Goulburn or Junee or in town for court matters.

aha, distinction noted johnboy.

Fair call, that they haven’t been convicted. I would be interested to know what the temps in the cells have got to over the last couple of days, because my house has been pretty bloody hot. It the cells are significantly hotter, then they probably have a point. But if they are just as hot as where I live, then deal with it.

The link from toriness refers to members of the public taking photos with their phones, so come on people, post up!

Also people bear in mind this is a remand centre. People there have not yet been convicted.

A friend has just sent me this very amusing link to a breaking news item about some prisoners protesting about the conditions in the remand centre. I say leave them on the roof to roast – if you don’t like the prison conditions, the solution is simple: don’t commit crimes you idiots.

I say leave them on the roof to roast – if you don’t like the prison conditions, the solution is simple: don’t commit crimes you idiots.

I am interested in how they made it out to the roof, but then were unable to get off the roof and do a runner, but I guess they just wanted to “protest” without an escape attempt going or their record.

Is anyone able to point to the exact part of the roof that they are on?

Mr Evil (#6), that was my first response when I heard it on the news. then I thought, “hey, just wait a little while and send Hargreaves up there to negotiate with them, then let rip”.

Mr Evil said :

Shoot them down.

+1

All together now . . .

When this old world starts a getting me down
And people are just too much for me to face
I’ll climb way up to the top of the stairs
And all my cares just drift right into space

On the roof, its peaceful as can be
And there the world below dont bother me, no, no

So when I come home feeling tired and beat
I’ll go up where the air is fresh and sweet
I’ll get far away from the hustling crowd
And all the rat-race noise down in the street

On the roof, thats the only place I know
Look at the city, baby
Where you just have to wish to make it so
Let’s go up on the roof

And at night the stars they put on a show for free
And, darling, you can share it all with me
Thats what I said
Keep on telling you

That right smack dab in the middle of town
I found a paradise thats troubleproof
And if this old world starts a getting you down
There’s room enough for two
Up on the roof…

I reckon the roof might be nicer than inside, at least they’d get a breeze.

Also with police giving them hats and water they’re in a great position to keep it going.

I thought they had just found room for more prisoners on the roof, as the new gaol is still not ready to accept prisoners………

Maybe the deck chairs, eskies and umbrellas have been delayed

I can’t believe they’d choose the roof over air-con! I’d practically mug someone for their air-con myself!

We could always get up on the roof once they come down ….

I’ll join them, I’d like the taxpayer to pay for my house to have air-con.

Not if they’re permanently unconscious Granny.

They’ll sue for sure!

Does “self-inflicted dehyrdation, heatstroke and sunburn” violate human rights?

Get a few cricket players to practice throwing at the stumps, using their heads as the stumps.

Perhaps we could send out an open request to schoolkids with slingshots. Can you imagine 50 schoolkids with slingshots firing rocks at these guys?

Hehehehehe.

Shoot them down.

I say wait it out. When they’re burnt to buggery and half dead from dehydration, they’ll be a bit more compliant.

Rae street is blocked and their are police everywhere including special response team by the looks. Well that was about 8.10 this morning. It’ll be warm up on that roof soon enough.

ABC News are carrying it now.

just on local radio

Where in the ‘news’ did you see this?