Repairs to Canberra's jail in the wake of the November riot last year, in which prisoners set fire to their cells, have been estimated at more than $2.5 million.
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The repair estimate to walls, doors, furniture, bedding, plumbing, fittings, cameras, lights and fencing was detailed in documents obtained by The Canberra Times under Freedom of Information.
Adding a significant additional loading to the estimated repair cost - estimated at some $1.7 million - was the necessity to have an additional 10 custodial staff on duty in the affected areas as the tradespeople worked.
The FOI documents also revealed:
- A lack of a clear command structure during the emergency;
- No direct notification to police about the incident by Corrections and then advice received that a "full siege" was taking place;
- "Inconsistent messages" from the Corrections Commissioner;
- Concerns for the location and safety of the vulnerable female prison population;
- Multiple and ongoing phone calls from concerned family members of inmates tying up phone lines and staff; and
- Prisoners could hear all the radio traffic and directions between corrections officers dealing with the riot, and their direct managers
In a briefing provided to Corrections Minister Mick Gentleman by the former Commissioner Jon Peach, the prison emergency began around 6.50pm on November 10 last year when 27 detainees housed in the AU-North accommodation unit refused to return to their cells for the nightly lock-in.
The November riot was the most significant event seen at the Alexander Maconochie Centre during Mr Peach's tenure and follows on from a raft of other incidents, notably the strip-searching of a female prisoner in view of male prisoners, a hole cut in the fence with contraband thrown in and the breach not discovered for 24 hours, and a racist attack on an indigenous prisoner within a staff-only area of the jail.
Just over two weeks ago Mr Peach was abruptly shifted out of his Commissioner role, four years into a standard five-year contract.
He has been re-assigned to the Security and Emergency Management branch of the Justice and Community Safety directorate, with former Chief Police Officer Ray Johnson acting in the role until a new Commissioner is recruited.
The documents obtained by The Canberra Times revealed that while no specific threats were made by the disobedient detainees, the briefing documents detailed how the prisoners sprayed the floor of the unit with detergent to "impede an intervention team" and "armed themselves with makeshift weapons such as broom handles".
A timeline of the Code Red riot details a cacophony of noise and high anxiety within the prison, with fire alarms sounding, and detainees yelling and banging on walls and doors.
In his briefing notes, Mr Peach said he arrived at 7.15pm to find two officers "running around in high agitation" and looking for batons.
"I told them both to relax and take their time as we needed to get a full handle on what was going on," Mr Peach said.
Police who initially attended advised that they would not deploy into the prison unless they carried their full personal protection gear including their Glock pistols. It was advice which Mr Peach said made him "uncomfortable".
About two hours into the emergency, officers reported "zero visibility" within the AU-North accommodation unit as thick smoke from burning bedding and furniture filled the corridors, and detainees in other parts of the prison were "struggling to breathe".
Police tactical teams and ambulance paramedics officers were placed on standby outside the prison and a police drone was sent up over the external yard as Corrections officers with riot shields and breathing apparatus provided "protection" for firefighters attempting to extinguish the various fires burning within the accommodation block and the yard.
Physical protection was needed because the firefighters were pelted with any projectiles that the detainees could find, including tables and snapped-off CCTV cameras.
The emergency ended around 9.50pm, with the detainees dropping their weapons and handing them through the fence to the guards.
In the aftermath of the riot, 28 beds were unusable within the prison, which was already operating at or near its maximum capacity.
Eight detainees considered to be "instigators" of the riot were transferred into the NSW prison system under Section 26 of the Crimes (Sentencing Administration) Act.
A total of 38 separate reports from the Corrections officers involved in the emergency could not be released under Freedom of Information because of the ongoing investigation by police.
The independent Inspector of Correctional Services, Neil McAllister, will table his full report of the incident to the ACT Legislative Assembly before the end of March.