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Warders hurt in Goulburn prison riot

By Les Kennedy
April 17 2002

Seven prison officers were injured, one seriously, when prisoners rioted in the state's main maximum security jail yesterday.

Unarmed warders were taking a roll call in one wing of Goulburn jail when about 30 inmates belonging to a gang attacked the guards with broken brooms and other makeshift weapons.

The fight lasted five minutes before other officers subdued the rioters with chemical sprays, the NSW Corrective Services Commissioner, Ron Woodham, said.

More than 30 prison officers trained in riot control have been sent as reinforcements and all 520 inmates will be kept in their cells for up to 48 hours while officers search for weapons.

"We do not know what triggered [the attack], but it follows a series of incidents in the past couple of months in the same wing where cells have been vandalised and fires lit," Mr Woodham said.

Goulburn jail has four main wings, one of which is the Super Max section where the state's top 20 high-risk prisoners, including the backpacker serial killer, Ivan Milat, are held.

Mr Woodham was keen to allay fears that there was any trouble in the Super Max section.

The commissioner, who travelled to Goulburn last night to oversee an inquiry into the riot, said he was concerned for one of the injured officers.

The guard, who had head injuries, was taken by helicopter to Canberra's Woden Valley Hospital for
urgent surgery.