The treatment of detainees at the Alexander Maconochie Center federal prison in Canberra

So far, the only media outlets brave enough to publish my revelations about the inhumane treatment of David McBride and other inmates at Canberra’s hateful Alexander Maconochie Center federal prison have been Pearls and Irritations and Canberra’s City News.

On October 22, 2024, I finally received a response on behalf of Richard Glenn, Director General of the ACT Justice and Community Safety Directorate.

This followed my email of 25 September 2024 in which I directed a series of questions to the then ACT Justice Minister for Corrections and Health, Emma Davidson MLA. This concerned repeated allegations regarding the “inhumane” treatment of David McBride and other detainees at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.

Among a series of evasive words, came this stark admission, confirmed by the Director General himself:

“So far in the 2024-2025 financial year, three detainees have died while in custody at AMC.”

But this horrific fact about a federal prison that currently houses only about 400 inmates was followed by these utterly anodyne words:

“As in the community, deaths can occur in custody for reasons including natural causes.”

To me, this apology statement is unbelievable.

In the interest of free and open discussion and debate, below is the response I received on behalf of the Director-General, sections of which I have highlighted in bold.

“Dear Professor Fitzgerald

Treatment of detainees at the Alexander Maconochie Center (AMC)

Thank you for your correspondence of 25 September 2024 to the Minister for Corrections and Health Justice, Emma Davidson MLA, regarding the treatment of detainees at the Alexander Maconochie Center (AMC) and in particular to Mr David McBride.

Your correspondence has been forwarded to me to provide a response while the ACT Government is in the interim period.

I appreciate your great interest in ensuring human rights, mental health and adequate treatment of detainees. Due to privacy obligations, I am unable to provide details about the concerns raised about Mr McBride; however, your concerns have been forwarded to the relevant areas of ACT Corrective Services (ACTCS) to be addressed as appropriate.

ACTCS operates in accordance with the Correctional Management Act 2007 (CMA) and the Human Rights Act 2004, with decisions made to maintain the safety and good order of the AMC, taking into account the individual circumstances of each detainee. According to the CMA, all detainees have minimum rights, such as access to telephone calls, visits, open air and exercise.

In May 2019, ministerial guidance ‘Human Rights Principles for ACT Correctional Centers’ (the Principles) was notified under the CMA, which ensures that the ACTCS considers human rights in developing correctional center policies and procedures to better support detainees. The Principles give clear meaning to the ACT Government’s commitment to human rights in the adult prison context and to supporting better outcomes for the health, safety, education, well-being and integration of prisoners into the community.

Additionally, ACTCS is subject to oversight by oversight bodies, including the Custody Inspector, who conducts critical incident reviews and a center-wide review at least once every three years against the text of the “healthy prison ” prepared by the World Health Organization. The ACT Government welcomes these reviews and the opportunities for continued improvement through the implementation of actions to meet the recommendations made.

I note the concerns expressed by Janine Haskins. While I cannot comment on individual circumstances, ensuring the safety of all detainees is a key priority for ACTCS. Naturally, this requires clear policies and processes around medication administration due to the risk of diversion or trafficking of prescription medications between detainees, whilst taking into account current operational requirements and ensuring ongoing security and good order within the AMC. When this security is compromised, there are a series of measures that can be taken to address the risk. Likewise, when an incident is reported, measures can be taken, including investigative segregation, that ensure the safety of detainees and staff, as well as the efficient and effective analysis of an alleged incident.

ACTCS works closely with Justice Health Services (JHS) to promote the health and well-being of detainees and support improved health outcomes. In accordance with the Access to Health Care Policy, inmates have access to interdisciplinary health services, which operate with complete clinical independence from ACTCS and can be accessed by inmates through self-referral and/or with staff assistance. ACTCS works closely with JHS to facilitate detainees’ access to prescribed medications.

Additionally, ACTCS encourages detainees to raise any concerns they have through available channels. This includes raising concerns directly to a correctional officer, your AMC Case Manager, through the AMC Complaints process as outlined in the Inmate Requests and Complaints Policy, and/or to a relevant oversight agency such as the Commission of ACT Human Rights and the ACT Ombudsman.

Regrettably, in response to your question regarding recent deaths in custody, I can confirm that three detainees have passed away whilst in custody in the 2024-2025 financial year to date. As in the community, deaths can occur in custody for reasons including natural causes.

As these matters have been referred to the ACT Coroner I am unable to comment further.

Lastly, I note that ACTCS is committed to ensuring the well-being of all detainees and strives to address any issues of concern in an appropriate and timely manner. This includes issues that you raised in your correspondence and that were previously brought to the attention of ACTCS. If you would like to review relevant ACTCS policies and ACT legislation, they are available on the ACT Legislation Register and the ACT Corrective Services website. They will provide you with better insight into ACTCS operations and how ACTCS works to ensure the safety and well-being of all detainees.

(…)

I believe this information will be useful.

Sincerely yours

Nicola Cowan

Executive Assistant to the Director General, Richard GlennJustice and Community Safety Directorate.”

(Letter ends)

As I predicted, in the ACT election last Saturday, the previous ACT Corrections Minister, Emma Davidson MLA, was defeated. His predecessor in the role, Mick Gentleman MLA, also faces a likely defeat.

Let us hope that the next ACT Corrections Minister actually makes profound corrections to the abhorrent conditions at the Alexander Maconochie Center and the inhumane treatment of David McBride.

But since the best predictor of future behavior and activity is past behavior and activity, I’m sorry to say I won’t hold my breath.

To learn more about this story, P&I recommends:

Lack of care: AMC prison a drug “supermarket”; force applied “regularly”, reports the team