prison – Michmutters

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Australia

Aboriginal man dies in custody at Port Phillip Prison in Melbourne, hours after hospital visit

a sign that reads "port phillip prison."

An Aboriginal man has died in a Melbourne prison just hours after returning from hospital.

The ABC understands the 32-year-old man was taken to St Vincent’s Hospital on Wednesday morning for treatment.

He was then brought back to the maximum-security Port Phillip prison, where he died in the medical unit on Wednesday night.

A spokesperson from the Department of Justice and Community confirmed the man died on Wednesday.

“It is with great sorrow that Corrections Victoria acknowledges the passing of a prisoner at Port Phillip Prison,” the spokesperson said.

“As with all deaths in custody, the matter has been referred to the coroner, who will formally determine the cause of death.”

Premier Daniel Andrews said both the coroner and Corrections Victoria would conduct a full review into death.

A statement was posted to the Corrections Victoria website late on Friday afternoon, saying: “We recognize that all deaths in custody have impacts on family members, friends, victims and the broader Aboriginal community, and we’re working to ensure they are provided with the support they need.”

Victoria’s corrections system was heavily criticized during a recent inquest into the death of Aboriginal woman Veronica Nelson, who died alone in her cell despite repeatedly calling out for help.

A St Vincent’s spokesperson offered the hospital’s condolences and said it would comply with the coronial inquest.

Push for uniform services across Australia

Federal Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus told ABC Radio Melbourne he wanted all states to adopt uniform custody notification services.

A close up shot of Mark Dreyfus wearing a suit and tie.
Attorney-General Mark Dreyfus says all corrections centers are run by Australia’s states and territories.(AAP: Mick Tsikas)

He said national implementation of the support services would enable Aboriginal people in custody to speak to lawyers, family members and support services.

“We’ve made a commitment in the election to assist families with coronial inquiries with the hope that if these deaths in custody are examined, we will learn more about how they can be prevented,” he said.

In 1991, Australia’s Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody warned the arrest of Aboriginal people should be a last resort and that prison staff should be trained to recognize the signs of deteriorating health.

There have been more than 500 deaths in custody since the commission.

Co-chair of the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria Marcus Stewart said the figure showed that changes were long overdue.

“[It’s] 500 too many. I have no confidence that the system is working,” he said.

“I think the system is rotted and corroded to its core and we need systematic reform, structural reform.”

Marcus Stewart, Co-Chair of the First Peoples' Assembly of Victoria
Marcus Stewart says the First Peoples’ Assembly of Victoria is calling for a truth-telling process to address deaths in custody.(Supplied)

He said mechanisms such as the Yoorrook Justice Commission, a truth-telling process, needed to be put in place so treaty could deliver reforms.

Mr Stewart said he was in favor of Mr Dreyfus’ suggestions of national custody notification services.

“It’s a bottom line responsibility that the government should be doing as a normal practice, and it’s kind of disgraceful … that in 2022 we’re talking about that being introduced,” he said.

“We see you, we hear you and we notice the inaction you’re taking on Aboriginal deaths in custody.

“Step up and take responsibility.”

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Australia

Australian academic Sean Turnell detained in Myanmar pleads not guilty in closed court

Sean Turnell (R) with his wife Ha Vu

An Australian academic who is being tried with ousted Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi on charges of violating the country’s official secrets law has testified in court for the first time, a legal official says.

Sean Turnell, an economist at Sydney’s Macquarie University, had served as an adviser to Ms Suu Kyi, who was arrested when her elected government was usted by the army on February 1 last year.

He was arrested five days later and faces up to five years’ imprisonment.

Professor Turnell is now being held in the main prison in Naypyitaw, the capital, as is Ms Suu Kyi.

Three of Ms Suu Kyi’s former cabinet members are being tried with them in a special court at the prison.

A legal official familiar with Thursday’s proceedings said Professor Turnell denied the allegations against him and pleaded not guilty in his first court appearance, but details of his testimony are limited.

Professor Turnell’s lawyers have been barred from talking about the case, while all trials involving Ms Suu Kyi have been closed to the media and public.

The legal official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to release information, said Professor Turnell and his co-defendants appeared to be in good health.

The exact details of the alleged offense in the case have not been made public, though Myanmar state television, citing government statements, said last year that Professor Turnell had access to “secret state financial information” and had tried to flee the country.

‘Trumped-up charges’

Friend and fellow economist Tim Harcourt told the ABC the opaque legal process was concerning.

“Let’s face it, it’s trumped-up charges by an authoritarian regime that wants to use Sean to discredit Aung San Suu Kyi. That’s what it’s all about,” he said.

“He’s pleaded not guilty because he’s not guilty.

“All he did was advise the Myanmar government on things they should do with their economy … providing good advice to improve the living standards of ordinary citizens.”

He said the advice from the previous Australian government was to take a “softly, softly” approach.

“But quite clearly, it hasn’t worked. It’s been 18 months now,” he said.

“The fact you can have such an authoritarian, murderous regime doing what it’s doing, and Australia hasn’t considered sanctions, is pretty surprising.

“Particularly given how quickly people acted with respect to Vladimir Putin with Ukraine, which was correct, they’ve sort of let Myanmar drift off.”

He said Foreign Minister Penny Wong had been more vocal about Professor Turnell’s case.

Defense Minister Richard Marles said he could not comment on the details of Australia’s consular access to Professor Turnell, but said the government was concerned about his situation.

“We are concerned about the level of access available to those providing consular services to Professor Turnell,” he said.

“Our most important engagement with Myanmar right now is around seeing a safe return of Professor Turnell to this country.

“And we will not rest until we have a situation where Professor Turnell is returned safely to Australia and safely to his country.”

Senator Wong has previously said sanctions are under active consideration and Professor Turnell is Australia’s top priority in Myanmar.

“Another question is, would sanctions make it worse for him or better for him? Does applying pressure put pressure on Myanmar or does it just anger them? So that’s a question for the judgment of the government,” Professor Harcourt said.

Professor Turnell appears with Aung San Suu Kyi
Professor Turnell and Ms Suu Kyi are being held in the main prison in Naypyitaw, the capital.(LinkedIn)

Professor Turnell is also being prosecuted under immigration law, which carries a punishment of six months to five years’ imprisonment. Prosecutions under immigration law are common for foreigners being held for other offences.

The judge adjourned Thursday’s proceedings until next week, when Ms Suu Kyi is to testify.

The case is one of many faced by Ms Suu Kyi and is widely seen as an effort to discredit her to prevent her return to politics.

The charges against her include corruption and election fraud. She has already been convicted of several minor offenses.

Last year’s military takeover sparked peaceful nationwide street protests that security forces quashed with lethal force, triggering armed resistance that some UN experts have characterized as civil war.

ABC/AP

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Categories
Australia

Roof security concerns flagged years before weekend escape from Malmsbury Youth Justice Center

Roof security concerns flagged years before weekend escape from Malmsbury Youth Justice Center

Victorian youth justice management rejected internal recommendations to upgrade the security of the unit two young men escaped from at the Malmsbury Youth Justice Center over the weekend, the ABC has learned.

Two young men smashed through the plaster ceiling of their cells in the admissions unit and escaped through the roof cavity of the youth prison north-west of Melbourne on Saturday night.

They were caught by police on Monday.

The 22-year-old escapee will face court on Tuesday after he was arrested in Corio, near Geelong, while the 19-year-old was sent to adult prison and will face court again in September.

The unit is not surrounded by a secure fence.

The ABC understands concerns were raised in 2019 about poor security of the admissions unit, which is an older building in the precinct.

Sign outside the Malmsbury Youth Justice Center in central Victoria.
There have been multiple reported attacks on staff at the Malmsbury Youth Justice Center in the past few weeks.(abcnews)

Internal recommendations were made to upgrade security and infrastructure of the unit, including the ceiling and roof due to risk of escape.

The ABC understands the recommendations were ultimately rejected by management.

The ABC has reported extensively on serious assaults of staff and young people at Malmsbury.

In the past six weeks, staff have reported being assaulted, threatened, spat on, and having suspected urine thrown at them. One young man threw hot water and honey at another inmate which landed on the side of a staff member’s face.

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Categories
Australia

Police search for two men on the run after breaking out of Malmsbury Youth Justice Center

Police search for two men on the run after breaking out of Malmsbury Youth Justice Center

Two young men are on the run after breaking out of the Malmsbury Youth Justice Centre, north-west of Melbourne.

Police are asking the public for assistance in finding 22-year-old Shamus Touhy and 19-year-old Matthew Piscopo.

They broke out of the Mollison Street youth justice facility at around 11:44pm on Saturday.

Malmsbury staff told the ABC the men escaped through the roof and workers did not realize they were missing until Sunday morning.

Police said the men were known to frequent the Ballarat area.

Detective Inspector Juliann Goldrick said police were searching for the men and residents should not approach them.

“These men are not believed to be violent, however members of the public are advised not to approach either,” Ms Goldrick said.

Touhy has red hair and Piscopo has a long tattoo of a rose on his left hand.

Police are urging anyone with information to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

The breakout comes after a string of violent attacks and ongoing concerns about safety in the troubled youth justice centre.

Head counts may have been missed

A daily briefing report seen by the ABC confirmed staff did not discover the escape until the following morning.

“Matthew Piscopo and Shamus Touhy breached the roof space from their bedrooms in the admissions unit and exited via a plant room door,” it stated.

“The young men exited the precinct and this was discovered during the morning unlock.”

Sign outside the Malmsbury Youth Justice Center in central Victoria.
The prison sent an email to staff reminding them to properly conduct head counts.(abcnews)

Following the breakout, the executive director of youth justice operations sent out an email to staff about the importance of nightly headcounts.

“During the night, checks need to be visual and ensure the young person is present in their room,” the email said.

“Please note that strict adherence to the client accounts and observations is expected by all staff.

“If circumstances arise that disrupt staff ability to adhere to these requirements … the unit supervisor, unit manager/night manager must work with staff to address the issue in the most immediate and safest way possible.”

Some staff who received this email said the nightly headcount was likely not conducted properly.

They said the admissions unit where this occurred had since been closed.

A spokesperson for the Department of Justice and Community Safety said how the men escaped from the facility was being reviewed.

“Any escape is taken very seriously, and the safety of the community is of paramount concern,” they said.

“The young people are not considered dangerous.”

Staff levels ‘extremely dangerous’

The ABC has confirmed that youth justice staff have repeatedly told center management in recent weeks that staffing levels were “extremely dangerous.”

The ABC understands staff were left alone in secure units with young people out of their cells, despite recent mandated supervision ratios requiring one staff member to three young people.

In the past six weeks, staff have reported being assaulted, threatened, spat on, and having suspected urine thrown at them. One young man threw hot water and honey at another inmate which landed on the side of a staff member’s face.

Another staff member witnessed a young person being seriously assaulted by two young men who stomped on him and kicked him in the head while he was on the ground.

Youth justice sources told the ABC staff morale was low, and workers felt their safety concerns were going unheard.

There was a mass breakout from Malmsbury in 2017, but police captured all 15 young people.

Michele Berry, who worked at the Malmsbury Youth Justice Center for 25 years, witnessed the 2017 riots and escapes.

Michele Berry sits on a chair and leans on the back while looking away from the camera.
Michele Berry said she was unsurprised people were breaking out of Malmsbury again.(ABC News: Michael Barnet)

She was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder and was paid out hundreds of thousands of dollars from the Department of Justice because she was declared unfit to work.

She said she was unsurprised by the latest escape.

“It was like… not again,” she told ABC Radio Melbourne.

“The admissions unit is a pretty secure unit, except for the ceiling. They’re able to get through the plaster and then through the roof.

“They make up their beds to make out that they’re asleep and then the officers tick that they’re present inside the unit.”

She said when she worked there, the number of staff supervising young people at night was too low.

“We’re not staffing it correctly,” she said.

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Categories
US

Inside Brittney Griner’s possible new home locked up in Russian prison

Inside Brittney Griner's possible new home locked up in Russian prison

WNBA star Brittney Griner was convicted of cannabis possession and smuggling in Russia on Thursday and was sentenced to nine years in prison.

While it’s not clear exactly where she will be serving out her unusually harsh sentence — which she is appealing — Griner may return to the female penal facility where she has spent the last six months outside of Moscow.

The prison, dubbed Correctional Colony No. 1 or IK-1, is no Stalin-era gulag but seems to bleak at best.

The facility is a former orphanage, rebuilt and converted ten years ago into a pretrial detention center and prison where women live out their sentences, the New York Times reported last month.

Located in the village of Novoye Grishino, the overwhelmingly gray and artificially lit prison has its own sewing factory and Russian Orthodox church inside.

An officer of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service patrols with a service dog outside the penal colony ?1 in the settlement of Novoye Grishino
WNBA star Brittney Griner has spent the last six months locked up in Correctional Colony No. 1.
AFP via Getty Images
Women lined up walking into Correctional Colony No. 1, or IK-1, Novoye Grishino
The prison includes a pretrial detention center and area for female offenders to serve out their sentences.
DmitrovTV
Officers of the Russian Federal Penitentiary Service gather by the entrance to the prison
The prison was once home to Israeli-American Naama Issachar, who was detained by Russian police in 2019.
AFP via Getty Images

Video footage of the facility shows towering gray walls topped with barbed wire and gives a glimpse inside of the sewing factory where dozens of women appear to be working.

A large, rusting statue of Lenin sits in a snow-filled courtyard.

Journalist Yekaterina Kalugina visited Griner while she was at the facility, and told The Times that each day is repetitive and monotonous for the Phoenix Mercury Center.

Each morning inmates wake up, and eat a basic meal in her cell, Kalugina said. They are then permitted to walk around the courtyard. They then spend the rest of the day either reading books or watching Russian television.

A monument to the Soviet Union founder Vladimir Lenin stands in front of the prison
A large statue of Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin sits in the prison courtyard
AFP via Getty Images
Correctional Colony No. 1 was converted from an orphanage roughly 10 years ago.
AFP via Getty Images

Uniquely, the cells have a private washroom but the inmates are only allowed to shower twice a week, she said. They are permitted to order food online and keep food in an available refrigerator.

The prison was also formerly home to Israeli-American Naama Issachar, who was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to over seven years in prison after Russian police said they found marijuana in her luggage while she was connecting flights in Moscow. Vladimir Putin later pardoned her for drug trafficking in 2020.

Brittney Griner walks into a Russian courtroom in shackles
Brittney Griner was sentenced to nine years in Russian prison on Thursday.
POOL/AFP via Getty Images
Brittney Griner gives smirks for the camera behind bars
Griner was convicted of cannabis possession and drug smuggling.
REUTERS

Issachar was detained as a political pawn between Russia and Israel, just as Griner is with the United States now.

Yaffa Issachar, Naama’s mother, told The Times her daughter spent three months at IK-1. She said filling out the paperwork to enter the prison to visit Naama could take up to four hours followed by a tedious inspection of each item of food she had brought.

She was treated relatively well, her mother said, and was allowed to visit from a rabbi once a week. Issachar recalled the statue of Lenin as well as the sound of guard dogs barking.

Issachar’s mother told The Times her daughter sobbed when she heard about Griner and is worried that as a gay woman she could be subjected to much harsher treatment in conservative Russia.

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Categories
Australia

WA government says transfer of Banksia Hill detaines to Casuarina has ‘worked’

WA government says transfer of Banksia Hill detaines to Casuarina has 'worked'

Moving “violent young offenders” out of Western Australia’s only youth detention center to a separate unit at an adult prison has “worked”, the WA government says.

The comments follow widespread criticism of conditions for children being held in detention, in both the existing Banksia Hill Detention Center and an ad hoc facility set up in a section of Casuarina — one of the state’s maximum security male prisons.

Last month the Department of Justice moved 17 children, including one aged 14, to the unit at Casuarina, dubbed “Unit 18.”

Their hands and ankles were reportedly shackled during the move.

Toilets have been ripped out of walls in a damaged prison cell
The young offenders were moved to Casuarina Prison after they damaged cells at Banksia Hill Detention Centre.(Supplied: Department of Justice)

The department said the move was prompted by widescale damage to cells at Banksia Hill, and detainees had to be relocated so the cells could be repaired.

Reports of self-ham emerge following transfer

There have been subsequent reports of four of those children being taken to hospital after attempted self-harm.

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Categories
Australia

James Fairhall jailed for 25 years for murder of partner Noeline Dalzell in front of their children

A court sketch of a man with a bald head.

A Victorian man has been jailed for 25 years over the stabbing murder of his partner in front of their children.

WARNING: Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that the following article contains the name and images of a person who has died.

Noeline Dalzell died on a Seaford driveway, in Melbourne’s south-east, in 2020.

James Leonard Fairhall, her partner and the children’s father, was today sentenced in the Supreme Court of Victoria to 25 years in prison for her murder.

The 47-year-old was found guilty by a jury in December last year after a trial lasting nearly a fortnight.

He had pleaded guilty to the lesser charge of manslaughter, which prosecutors rejected.

“You stabbed Noeline in front of your three children while they tried to deter you and protect their mother,” the Supreme Court’s Justice Jane Dixon told Fairhall in his sentencing hearing.

He was given a non-parole period of 18.6 years. With 913 days already served, he will be eligible for parole in 16 years.

On February 4, 2020, an argument broke out in the family home between Ms Dalzell and Fairhall after he learned she was seeing another man.

The couple were separated at the time, but Fairhall had been back sleeping on the couch at the Seaford home for two months.

That was despite an intervention order issued in 2018 banning him from being there or even contacting Ms Dalzell.

He had breached that intervention order previously, in what police described as incidents of family violence.

Son pushed father away in bid to protect his mother, judge says

On the day of her death, their children, aged 13, 15 and 16 at the time, arrived home from high school to find their parents arguing.

Their father seemed drunk and angry, they testified.

He became progressively more aggressive, following Ms Dalzell around the house carrying a pair of scissors.

Those scissors were eventually discarded and replaced by a big kitchen knife.

A woman wearing a red long-sleeved top looks over her shoulder at the camera smiling.
Her loved ones say Noeline Dalzell was an angel with a ‘cheeky smile’.(Supplied)

Ms Dalzell took refuge with her children in the bedroom of her only son as her kids screamed at their dad to stop.

“You threatened to kill Noeline and tried to get past your children to get at her,” Justice Dixon said to Fairhall during his sentencing.

“Your son pushed you to try and keep you away.

“Suddenly you reached over the top of your children and stabbed Noeline once to the left side of the neck with the knife you were wielding.”

Neighbor showed ‘considerable courage’ in bid to save Ms Dalzell’s life

In Ms Dalzell’s final moments she attempted to flag down help from neighbours, who tried unsuccessfully to save her life.

Despite initially using a second knife to threaten a neighbor who tried to help, Fairhall did eventually assist with first aid, which Justice Dixon considered in deciding the length of his sentence.

“[The neighbour] was about to call triple-0, when you approached him brandishing the second knife and told him not to call the cops,” Justice Dixon said.

“I have retreated into his house and locked the front door.

“Minutes later, displaying considerable courage, he went back outside to offer help in response to the unfolding commotion.”

But it was too late.

Noeline was 49.

A smiling woman sitting outside wearing a bright orange sweat shirt.
Noeline Dalzell is remembered as a great person and mother.(Supplied)

Fairhall had a criminal history of violence and had floated family violence intervention orders in the past.

Justice Dixon said the attack was not spontaneous.

“You were following Noeline around the house before the incident and pursued her into the bedroom, before reaching past and over your children to stab her,” she said.

She noted to ongoing impact the murder had on those children.

“Three young lives forever changed by your despicable violence,” Justice Dixon told the convicted murderer.

“There is an enormous hole left in their lives by the loss of their mother.”

At her funeral in 2020, Ms Dalzell was remembered as a proud mother and a passionate Essendon supporter.

“She was a great person, she was a great mum to these kids,” her sister-in-law Jenny Dalzell told the ABC in 2020.

“What happened to her was just tragic, it shouldn’t have happened.”

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Categories
Australia

As Victoria’s incarceration rate rises, children of jailed parents are ‘invisible victims’, report says

As Victoria's incarceration rate rises, children of jailed parents are 'invisible victims', report says

As Holly Nicholls grew up, her mother struggled to support the family while her father was in jail.

She was often forced to skip dinner or have toast as a substitute, and her family’s lack of money did not go unnoticed at school.

“Never having nice shoes, nice clothes, never getting your hair cut … and other young people notice that and then you cop the bullying,” she said.

Ms Nicholls’ father was incarcerated when she was young, meaning her family lived on a single income.

She said the stigma directed towards people who had been incarcerated was particularly confronting for children.

“They ask you questions like ‘is your dad a murderer or a rapist?'” she said.

“That’s really a full on thing to hear … because you still have that connection and love for that person and here people are in society demonizing them.”

Ms Nicholls shared her story as a report focusing on the way parental incarceration affects children was tabled in the Victorian Parliament.

A woman with dark hair speaking in front of microphones.
Holly Nicholls (right) says her father’s imprisonment marked her early life.(abcnews)

The report found the traumatic nature of parental incarceration could interrupt childhood development, a lack of support could contribute to intergenerational patterns of incarceration and that for Aboriginal families, separating children from their parents could perpetuate historical trauma.

It also highlighted that the number of parents being incarcerated in Victoria was likely to be rising in line with an overall increase in the number of people being jailed.

Children with parents in jail ‘invisible victims’

The committee behind the report recommended the Victorian government set up a dedicated unit to support those young people.

Crossbench MP Fiona Patten, who chaired the committee, said children with parents in jail were the “invisible victims of crime”.

“They serve a sentence alongside their parent, an experience which may affect them negatively for their whole lives,” she said.

Reason Party MP Fiona Patten
Committee chair Fiona Patten says it was a privilege to hear personal stories, including some from prison inmates.(Supplied)

The committee looked at policies and services for children affected by parental incarceration across the state.

The report outlined 29 recommendations, including reducing the number of parents serving time in prison, developing arrest practices among police that are more child-aware and improving consideration of children’s interests when sentencing parents.

Data is scarce, but it is estimated that about 7,000 children in Victoria have a parent in jail at any time and 45,000 will have a parent imprisoned during their childhood.

Aboriginal children are disproportionately affected by parental incarceration in Victoria, with about 20 per cent likely to experience parental incarceration compared with 5 per cent of non-Aboriginal children.

Inmates’ experiences considered by committee

Rachael Hambleton, whose father spent time in prison while she was growing up, said dedicated support for young people going through a similar experience was needed.

“There are lots of not-for-profits that are trying to gap-fill services that don’t really exist,” she said.

Ms Hambleton also said it was important to consider the greater issues at play in the justice system.

“We all want to see a reduction in crime,” she said.

“Incarceration increases recidivism, while many evidence-based holistic approaches have been proven to reduce it.

“It’s time we looked to what works and dared to dream bigger.”

Razor wire at a Brisbane prison
The committee heard from both inmates and prison officers.(AAP: Dave Hunt)

The report recommended setting up a designated government unit within the Department of Families, Fairness and Housing to “design ways to help support children’s interests through their parent’s journey in the criminal justice system.”

In the report’s foreword, Ms Patten thanked those who shared their experiences as part of the committee’s work, which included inmates in Victorian prisons whose own parents had been incarcerated.

“We were told by individuals that they have been silenced from speaking about their experiences for so long because of stigma that they could only face and describe their experiences in late adulthood and did so, in some cases, for the first time to the committee, she said.

“We felt privileged to hear their stories.”

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Categories
Australia

Adelaide Remand Center general manager revealed as the who stole $100,000 prisoners of suspect’ money

Brenton Williams

A suppression order on the identity of Adelaide Remand Center’s general manager, who is charged with theft, has now been lifted.

Brenton Williams is accused of stealing more than $100,000 of prisoners’ money.

The offense was allegedly committed between April 27 and July 27 this year.

The 47-year-old was arrested last week and charged with an aggravated count of dishonestly taking property without consent.

His identity was suppressed by the Adelaide Magistrates Court “in the interests of the administration of justice”.

An item of clothing hangs from the exterior of the Adelaide Remand Centre.
The Adelaide Remand Center general manager is accused of stealing more than $100,000 of prisoner’s cash. (ABC News: Alina Eaton)

That suppression order was lifted today, after the police prosecutor confirmed she did not want to pursue it.

The Department for Correctional Services says it will launch an independent investigation into theft.

“The department’s main priorities are the welfare of employees at the Adelaide Remand Center and the person who is currently before the courts,” a departmental spokeswoman said last week.

Serco, the private company that runs prisons in Adelaide’s CBD, said it would also be working with police.

Williams did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody, with the case scheduled to return to court in October.

Corrections Minister Joe Szakacs said the allegations are deeply concerning.

“It is incredibly disappointing to be informed of these serious allegations relating to the senior Serco employee at the privately run Adelaide Remand Centre,” said Mr Szakacs.

“These are serious allegations, which I’m deeply concerned about.

“I want answers, and a full review is being undertaken by DCS to investigate this matter.

“As the matter is now before the courts, the state government cannot make any further comment.”

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Categories
Australia

Adelaide Remand Center general manager revealed as the who stole $100,000 prisoners of suspect’ money

Brenton Williams

A suppression order on the identity of Adelaide Remand Center’s general manager, who is charged with theft, has now been lifted.

Brenton Williams is accused of stealing more than $100,000 of prisoners’ money.

The offense was allegedly committed between April 27 and July 27 this year.

The 47-year-old was arrested last week and charged with an aggravated count of dishonestly taking property without consent.

His identity was suppressed by the Adelaide Magistrates Court “in the interests of the administration of justice”.

An item of clothing hangs from the exterior of the Adelaide Remand Centre.
The Adelaide Remand Center general manager is accused of stealing more than $100,000 of prisoner’s cash. (ABC News: Alina Eaton)

That suppression order was lifted today, after the police prosecutor confirmed she did not want to pursue it.

The Department for Correctional Services says it will launch an independent investigation into theft.

“The department’s main priorities are the welfare of employees at the Adelaide Remand Center and the person who is currently before the courts,” a departmental spokeswoman said last week.

Serco, the private company that runs prisons in Adelaide’s CBD, said it would also be working with police.

Williams did not apply for bail and was remanded in custody, with the case scheduled to return to court in October.

Corrections Minister Joe Szakacs said the allegations are deeply concerning.

“It is incredibly disappointing to be informed of these serious allegations relating to the senior Serco employee at the privately run Adelaide Remand Centre,” said Mr Szakacs.

“These are serious allegations, which I’m deeply concerned about.

“I want answers, and a full review is being undertaken by DCS to investigate this matter.

“As the matter is now before the courts, the state government cannot make any further comment.”

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