Report finds Tasmanian prisoners left in cells with no running water
Tasmania's custodial inspector has found prisoners suspected of concealing contraband like drugs are subjected to inhumane conditions. His scathing report says the use of "dry cells" breaches United Nations rules on the treatment of prisoners.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00An alarming report into conditions faced by some Tasmanian prisoners.
00:07These cells should not exist, they should never have existed and they do put people's lives at risk.
00:13Prisoners who are suspected of concealing contraband like drugs inside their bodies are placed in dry cells.
00:20These are rooms with no running water for sinks or toilets.
00:24The custodial inspector found prisoners can be held in dry cells for up to 10 days
00:29with no window to outside and lights kept on 24 hours a day.
00:33Some don't have intercoms, meaning prisoners can't call for help if they suffer medical emergencies.
00:39These conditions are the sort of conditions that we read about and hear about in the United States in maximum security prisons.
00:50This amounts on occasions to torture.
00:53The dry cells mostly don't work.
00:55Contraband was found in less than 20% of the cases the custodial inspector studied.
01:00They also mean correction staff have to work in unsanitary conditions.
01:05It's really worrying what's happening in the prison for staff and for prisoners.
01:09There is an inextricable link between the number of correction officers and support staff and the experience of prisoners.
01:16The report came about because a prison staff member raised the alarm.
01:20And the custodial inspector wants legal protections so prisoners and staff who speak to his office don't suffer reprisals.
01:28We don't know how many issues haven't been brought to the surface because other people are afraid of reprisals.
01:34The government's accepted all of the report's recommendations.