Vic:Management problems in prisons rife: coroner

AAP General News (Australia)
04-27-2000
Vic:Management problems in prisons rife: coroner

By Catherine Chisholm

MELBOURNE, April 27 AAP - A state coroner today found management problems involving
at-risk prisoners in Victoria's private jail were rife.

Evidence given during Coroner Graeme Johnstone's inquest into five deaths in custody
at Port Phillip Prison found the fragmented nature of the system created problems for
information flow essential to the management of at-risk prisoners.

Mr Johnstone highlighted systemic problems straddling both the public and private correctional
systems in Victoria.

His comments come after a long-running investigation into the deaths of five Port Phillip
prisoners between December 1997 and March 1998.

Adam Irwin, 20; George Drinken, 28; Rodney Koers, 34; and Michael Filips, 52; were
found hanged. A fifth man, Vienh Chi Tu, 20, died of a suspected drug overdose.

Mr Johnstone found the men, the Department of Justice and prison operator Group 4 contributed
to the hanging deaths.

Outside the court, Group 4 said it regretted the deaths and extended its sympathies to relatives.

Group 4 Australia managing director Peter Olszak said the firm would examine the findings.

"We have only just received the coroner's report, findings and recommendations," he said.

"We will study them fully and we will consider acting on recommendations or taking
other appropriate action.

"The deaths investigated by the coroner occurred more than two years ago and in the
time since then an enormous amount of work has been done in the areas of prisoner management
and care, particularly the care of prisoners at risk of suicide or self harm."

Mr Olszak said despite the best efforts of prison staff, it was not always possible
to stop prisoners from harming themselves or even suicide.

In evidence given at the inquest, it was heard problems during the early days of the
prison were "rife".

Some of the staff directly involved were unaware of the special watch for prisoners
- the Suicides and Self Harm procedures.

In one case accurate and detailed record keeping was virtually non-existent.

Staff response following one of the incidents left considerable doubt on the effective
level of training, ability to control prisoners and knowledge of operating procedures.

There was evidence of staff not reading files on patients and misinformation about
whether prisoners were alone in their cells.

One witness said there was no training rehearsal for a death in custody and emergency
equipment could not be found when needed.

In two cases the ambulance was significantly delayed because of security procedures
upon entry into the prison.

Mr Johnstone said it was acknowledged the prison population was viewed as difficult
to manage, both as a group and individually.

"Thus the selection of and training of large numbers of inexperienced staff to man
a new complex with an acknowledged difficult population is, at the very least, problematical,"

he said.

"At the worst it was poor management decision in the light of the known difficulties
in dealing with prisoners and the attendant risk factors."

Mr Johnstone found the effects of inexperience permeated the evidence of a number of
prison staff who told of their respective roles in the lead-up to and in the aftermath
of the five deaths.

Systemic problems were not confined to Group 4 and had long been recognised as having
the potential to contribute to deaths in custody, he said.

AAP cmc/jd/jtb/br

KEYWORD: PRISON PROBLEMS

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