Hakea Prison riot: Special Operations Group officers called after six inmates escape cells and start riot

WA’s elite prison riot squad were called into restore order to Hakea Prison on Saturday night, after six inmates were able to breakout from their cells and riot. The prisoners, who were understood to have freed themselves after they were locked down for the night, rioted for more than an hour. Special Operations Group officers were forced into the Canning Vale facility after 8pm on Saturday, using flash bangs and beanbag rounds to take control of the D-wing, home to about 30 inmates. There were three primary offenders, with three others involved. In some cases, The West Australian understands officers had to defend themselves against makeshift weapons, with one prisoner found with a crowbar in the weeks leading up to the incident. The riot has lead to the closure of the entire wing, as police investigate, creating further headaches over where to put the inmates in the already overcrowded facility. Corrective Services Commissioner Brad Royce said: “The responding officers did an excellent job managing the situation and bringing about a swift resolution of the incident.” The Justice Department refused to comment on claims inmates had used weapons. While there were no staff injuries, WA Prison Officers Union secretary Andy Smith said there would likely be a psychological trauma from the incident. “It as an exceptionally dangerous situation for our officers who have to unlock the cell every morning with three in there instead of one,” he said. “The prisoners were all secured when the day shift left and the night shift took over and that is the information that I’ve got. “It was confined to one wing in one unit, meaning that there was, at maximum, probably 25 to 30 prisoners involved. “I’m concerned for the safety of our prison officers, our members on site, who, despite the work that they do, are still not considered to be first responders.” Mr Smith said prison overcrowding had meant the incident was foreseeable. Built for 600 inmates, at times this year there have been as many as 1300 prisoners in Hakea. “A small event like this is a red flag waving that it could become a major event, and then we’re looking at numbers that really put the community at risk,” Mr Smith said. “We’ve been waiting for this to start kicking off, and probably got now we’ve got no cells, so we’ve got a mini riot that’s occurred. “Now, we’ve got 20 to 30 less beds, and we’ve got nowhere to put them. This is a ridiculous situation. It’s been foreseeable and predictable.” Corrective Services Minister Paul Papalia referred questions to the Justice Department. Hakea has been the focus of Perth’s recent measles outbreak, with a confirmed case of the infectious disease reported last week.