JUST days after the Justice Department committed to a review of operations at the state's prison service, another inmate was accidentally released and boarded a bus for Launceston.
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The prisoner walked out of Risdon Prison on Wednesday afternoon.
He was apprehended by police hours later north of Hobart.
The mishap follows the release of a number of prisoners both before and after their sentences were due to expire.
Earlier this year, Damien Harris, of Launceston, was released a year early.
“A prisoner... was returning to the north of the state via public transport,” a Justice Department spokeswoman said on Thursday afternoon.
A prisoner was incorrectly released... and was returning to the north of the state via public transport.
- Justice Department spokeswoman
“The error was identified shortly after the prisoner was released. Tasmania Police was notified and the prisoner was returned to custody a short time later.”
Tasmania Police Assistant Commissioner Richard Cowling said police made the arrest at 6.20pm, after a call from the department.
“Police officers took custody of a man and transported him to the Hobart Reception Prison,” he said.
The stuff up has prompted urgent action from acting Attorney-General Jeremy Rockliff.
Several operational changes have been made, pending the establishment of the sentence management unit and an audit:
- A chief superintendent has been placed in charge of the sentence administration function
- Any identified complex issues regarding a sentence calculation will receive a mandatory check at deputy chief superintendent level or above and will be referred to the director of prisons for sign-off prior to a prisoner being released from custody
- Outside normal business hours, any complex cases will be signed off by the rostered duty director
The department announced earlier this week that it will review all prisoner release dates.
