Four prisoners refused to return to their cells, sparking a standoff with guards. Photo: File.
Four prisoners in one unit had a standoff with guards at the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC) on Wednesday night (10 March) after refusing to re-enter their cells.
Authorities believe the standoff started when the detainees demanded tobacco.
Doors and windows were damaged during the incident, but no detainees or officers were injured, a Justice and Community Services (JACS) spokesperson confirmed.
“The detainees were secured in an outdoor recreation area of the accommodation unit, and ACT Corrective Services officers commenced negotiations,” the spokesperson said.
The standoff lasted for several hours. Prisoners returned to their cells by 9:30 pm.
The ACT is one of only two Australian jurisdictions that still allows smoking inside its prison, which means inmates can access lighters.
Daily Digest
One guard expressed frustration at the frequency small fires were lit in cells, resulting in call-outs by ACT Fire and Rescue. The guard told Region Media that small fires occurred almost daily, sometimes multiple times a day.
According to the Police Realtime Online Management Information System (PROMIS), police responded to five fire-related incidents between 1 November 2019 and 31 October 2020.
Four fires were lit across the prison on a single night last November after 27 inmates refused to return to their cells. Two cells sustained fire damage and wooden doors and mattresses were burnt. Inmates also damaged CCTV cameras.
Western Australia is transitioning to ban smoking in indoor areas, including cells, within its prison. The ACT Government has previously said that while there is a policy to transition the AMC to a smoke-free prison, the policy was not a priority.
Banning smoking in the prison has been on the cards for at least five years. Then-Corrections Minister Shane Rattenbury flagged phasing out smoking in 2015.
The ACT Drug Strategy Action Plan, released in 2018, also recommended the Territory move towards smoke-free correctional facilities.
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There in there because the broke laws that most people don’t break its to easy for them in there I say
They are locked up for a reason.
Inca Serrated – men and women in aged care PAY to be there because they cannot look after themselves. And in a lot of instances they are treated very poorly.
Prisoners are placed in jail for punishment and for the safety of the community. WE pay for their rooms, meals, clothing, education and “rehabilitation” programs.
The AMC is the costliest jail in Australia and we have one of the highest recidivism rates. To be honest with you I would like my taxes better spent – like on our elderly.
See here for a prisoner's perspective on what is happening in AMC: https://www.facebook.com/The-Real-Alexander-Maconochie-Centre-101233661946233
It is obvious that the ACT cannot run a jail, let alone a safe or a rehabilitative one.
Bulldoze the place and build something similar to Pialligo with restaurants, hotels, nurseries and orchards which is useful and creates meaningful employment.
Says the man that believes everything he reads in the media! Wake up!!
My information is coming from the boots on the floor and the information I’m being told hasn’t even reached the media yet. When these upsetting and disgraceful cover ups are exposed, maybe then the moderator of RA will put my comments up.
Well believe me your information is incorrect!
I wish it was incorrect. Unfortunately it isn’t. Hopefully you’re not aligned with the wrong side and keep your job.
Treated better than our retirees.
Nathan Horton For extra punishment put them in Aged Care.
Nathan Horton Only if we aged care staff can go with our residents to the jail
Nathan Horton in what way exactly?
Their in prison they get nothing at all
Despite the concerted effort to introduce a needle exchange program since soon after the AMC opened, there is no apparant hurry to eliminate smoking. Amazing!