The state Senate would close two of the state’s oldest prisons to save money.
McNeil Island Correctional Complex, which began as a federal prison in 1875, and Green Hill School, a juvenile lockup that first opened in 1896, are among the largest facility closures included in the Senate budget released by the Democratic majority Monday. Read more »
An ACT Coroner has found the behaviour of corrections officers at the Magistrates Court last year contributed to the death of a mentally ill prisoner.
Coroner Grant Lalor has released his findings on the death of psychologist Tania Lioulios who attempted suicide last year while being transported from the courts in a prison van.
Mrs Lioulios was identified as a prisoner at risk when she appeared before a Magistrate last year.
She had already attempted suicide less than 24 hours earlier and told police she would kill herself.
Despite her mental state Mrs Lioulios was held in the cells for four and a half hours, in which time time she repeatedly bashed her head against the wall and tried to kill herself.
Coroner Lalor found that Corrections Officers should have been aware of the prisoner’s mental condition.
source: http://au.news.yahoo.com/a/-/australian-news/5459917
Amnesty International is calling for measures to improve conditions at Tamms Correctional Center, Illinois — the state’s only super-maximum security facility — stating that the harsh conditions of isolation endured by many prisoners for years on end appear to be unnecessarily punitive and may breach international standards for humane treatment. Read more »
Four Camden County corrections officers who sued the county freeholder board have ended their litigation in a confidential, out-of-court settlement and returned to their former jobs.
The officers were fired from the county jail in March 2008 after the county said they violated a residency requirement — a mandate that all county government workers live in Camden County. Officers Chris Davis, David Smith, and Adrian and Monica Cooley lived in Gloucester County. Read more »
Prisoners are most likely to attack their guards on Monday mornings, typically by punching them in the head. If they use a weapon, it is most commonly hot water, tea, or urine, thrown in the guard’s face.
Prisoners have also used food trays, chairs, pool balls and wood to attack guards, but rarely use knives, according to an internal Corrections Department report leaked to the Sunday Star-Times. Read more »
After working within the AZ State Prison system, and having being exposed to several new and strange expressions in this way, I decided to compile some interesting terms and phrases for you. In the last installment of Prison Slang, I covered basic terms for over a dozen different words, including places within the prison (G.P., P.C., etc.), various ways to describe people (Chomos, Cheetos, and lames), and many other examples of common prison verbiage.
Here, we will examine twenty more words and sayings commonly used inside the prisons of the Southwest, however not typically encountered “on the streets”. In fact, let’s start exactly there… Read more »
PRISON officers at Grafton jail in northern NSW have walked off the job over fears the correctional centre may be privatised.
About 150 workers at a rally in central Grafton are calling on Corrective Services Minister John Robertson to reassure officers it won’t be put in private hands.
The NSW government has announced plans to privatise the Hunter Valley’s Cessnock prison, and Parklea jail in Sydney, but the Public Service Association (PSA) said indications were that Grafton would be next.
The PSA said Corrective Services Commissioner Ron Woodham admitted as much at a parliamentary inquiry into the privatisation of prisons last Month.
Asked if Grafton could be privatised, Mr Woodham told that inquiry that: “Grafton could be, in the future”.
PSA general secretary Steve Turner said those comments had caused alarm for prison officers in Grafton and the local community.
“The Grafton community is understandably angry that the commissioner has revealed plans to hand over the prison to private companies to run for a profit,” Mr Turner said.
“Today’s rally will send a clear message to the government that Grafton doesn’t want a private prison.”
Along with prison officers, local nurses, police officers and other community groups will take part in the rally.
source: http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,25227794-5001021,00.html?from=public_rss
FLAGLER COUNTY, FL — A man in jail for child pornography faces new charges after what happened Tuesday morning while he was on his way to court.
According to the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, Alton Smith, 42, from Palm Coast, was being taken to a court appearance for 37 counts of child pornography and one charge of incest when a body search revealed that he had a razor blade and a homemade handcuff key.
Smith now faces charges of possession of contraband in a correctional facility and possession of a handcuff key, both of which are felonies.
Officials say Smith made the handcuff key from his eyeglasses, and had taken the razor blade from a disposable razor.
Inmates get three disposable razors per week, and each time, they must use it and dispose of it in front of a corrections officer within 30 minutes of issue.
It is unclear how Smith got hold of the blade.
In light of what happened, Smith has been re-classified as a high-risk prisoner and is being segregated from other prisoners.
source: http://www.firstcoastnews.com/news/local/news-article.aspx?storyid=134550&provider=rss
CHICAGO (AP) — Officials say an inmate working at a Cook County Jail facility discovered a loaded handgun in a pile of laundry.
Jail spokesman Steve Patterson says the .380-caliber semiautomatic pistol was discovered at a loading dock and wasn’t in the jail.
He says the inmate alerted guards after finding the gun Saturday morning.
Patterson says no guard has claimed the gun. He says guards at the facility don’t carry guns, but are allowed to carry them off site.
Investigators are interviewing inmates and working with federal authorities to determine the gun’s origin.
source: http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IL_JAIL_LAUNDRY_GUN_ILOL-?SITE=ILBLO&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
SHARPES — In the past five years, officials have investigated at least 12 allegations of sex or improper relationships between male inmates and female officers or staff members at the Brevard Correctional Institution, according to state records Eight officers and one counselor resigned or were fired in those incidents. Five cases were proven to have involved sexual relationships. Read more »
TALLAHASSEE — More than 100 female employees have filed a lawsuit against the state Department of Corrections, alleging they were subject to constant sexual harassment from male inmates.
The suit comes on the heels of recent jury awards of about $1.6 million for other female workers who said they faced the same treatment. Read more »
McNEIL ISLAND, Wash. (AP) – The investigation of an escape attempt from McNeil Island prison found a string of mistakes, confusion and chaos and has prompted security improvements.
The Department of Corrections investigation found if it hadn’t been for the “good instincts” and sharp eyes of 1 officer, the inmate might have made it to the mainland.
Among the problems uncovered after Donald Dravis walked out of the prison gate in December were: the appearance that the staff didn’t know what to do in an emergency, the escape siren wasn’t sounded, the shift commander wasn’t notified immediately, and the prison escape procedure wasn’t initiated until 25 minutes into the incident.
The News Tribune newspaper of Tacoma uncovered details of the report through a public records request.
Six high-risk prisoners escaped a Canadian jail last year after spending four months chipping a path to freedom with nail clippers and other makeshift tools, according to a government report released on Friday.
The prisoners, four of whom faced murder charges, used their tools to remove a heating grill and steel plate and win access to a brick exterior wall. Read more »
