Ten Prisoners Escaped During a Prison Riot in Western Australia

Ten Prisoners escaped from Western Australia’s Greenough Regional Prison, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, after a fire was sparked in an inmate’s cell. With prison officers distracted by the blaze, an unreported number of inmates swarmed and attacked the control rooms, using angle-grinders to gain access into the women’s unit.

The group then scaled the fences with ladders before eventually breaking out. The chaos didn’t end there though, an unknown number of left behind prisoners continued the carnage by setting fires and rioting until the early hours of Wednesday morning.

Although there have been no reports of assault, Union acting secretary Paul Ledingham could not confirm what happened when the male inmates broke into the women’s unit.

Speaking to The Australian explained: “If you have got a situation — riotous behaviour that goes for 10 to 12 hours in a prison under the cover of darkness where males and females are concerned — I think anyone’s imagination might lead them to think there were things going on. I’ve just been in the prison to look around…utter ­devastation is the only word to ­describe it.”

Authorities deployed an extra 150 officers to Geraldton to assist in the large-scale manhunt that includes a dog squad and a tactical response unit.

All of the escapees have been captured or handed themselves in, with the final inmate, 35-year-old Bradley Silvester, on the run for over 48 hours. According to public court orders, Bradley is currently in a civil dispute with the state over confiscation laws, as well as facing drugs and conspiracy charges.

Speaking to the ABC, a witness identified only as Anne recounted being confronted by two men in prison-issued green tracksuits after dropping her husband off at Geraldton Airport on Tuesday night. She claimed that they tried to flag down her car, continuing: “I quickly locked the car and then they grabbed the bonnet of the car and they approached to the doors and tried to open both doors.”

Unaware of the prison break at the time, she assumed they were hitchhikers, but was made suspicious by their clothing and nervous behaviour. "I don't want to run them down, I don't want to hurt people, but I don't know what I'm supposed to do. I quickly sped off and one of the guys on the left hand side tried to bang on the window of the car."

Police have urged anyone in the greater Geraldton region, north of Perth, to lock doors and windows. Inspector Geoff Desanges told the ABC, “These people should be treated as unpredictable and [with the] potential for violence.”

A spokesman for the Department of Justice said 283 prisoners were housed at Greenough prison but there were beds for 333 prisoners. However a report from 2016 by Neil Morgan, Inspector of Custorial Services, states that Greenough was designed to hold 223 prisoners.

Peter Collier, the states acting opposition leader, has said problems in the states prison system were linked directly to the government's efforts to rein in corrective services spending. He has called for a new prison to reduce overcrowding.