|
|
|
|
Letter dated 5th November, 1985 from the Assistant General Secretary, Garda Representative Association to the Clerk to the Committee.APPENDIX J5th November, 1985. Dear Sir, Thanking you for inviting us to make a submission in relation to the riot which occurred on Spike Island on the 1st September 1985. We have made enquiries in the area from members who were directly involved in this disturbance and from other people on the scene. As a result we have prepared the attached report. Yours sincerely, ______________________ Brian McCabe Assistant General Secretary Report on Prison Breakout Riot at Fort Mitchel Prison, Spike Island, on the 1st September 1985. Fort Mitchel Prison on Spike Island in Cork harbour was taken over from the Naval Service in April 1985. Immediately afterwards it was opened as a prison to accommodate male prisoners as a result of overcrowding in other prisons within the State. On its opening the Minister for Justice announced that it would be an open type prison and that selected prisoners would be housed there. This system of selection would ensure that only suitable prisoners, mostly those convicted of minor crime, would be sent there. In early April 1985 the first 16 prisoners arrived at Fort Mitchel, some 50 Prison Officers took up duty at the prison at around the same time. As time went on, other prisoners were transferred from Mountjoy, St. Patricks, Loughan House and Cork Prison to Fort Mitchel. On the question of security of the prison the Department of Justice Officials pointed out that there was a 32’ high wall around the prison, and another outside wall 18’ high which made the prison secure. On May 16th 1985 six prisoners escaped. They scaled the walls and got off the island by raft. On May 28th four prisoners got outside the prison complex but were recaptured before they could get off the island. As a result of these escapes some of the 12 families resident on the island protested that they were in danger from the escaping prisoners. In response, four Gardai were detailed to patrol the island nightly from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. The prison population of Fort Mitchel continued to increase, however the selection procedure promised never really materialised. Prisoners convicted of serious crime such as manslaughter, armed robbery and kidnapping were transferred to this open prison. Many had been involved in violent disturbances in other prisons and most of them had previous sentences. On 20th June five prisoners barricaded themselves in their dormitories and demanded transfers back to Dublin. Subsequent to 15th July 1985 the local elected members of the Garda Representative Association met the local Garda Authorities and pointed out the following pertinent facts: - 1.That there was no alarm system in the prison. 2.No ‘phone contact with the prison at night-time. 3.It would take at least 45 minutes to get reinforcements to Spike Island in the event of a breakout. 4.Insufficient reinforcements available locally. 5.No plan of action in the event of a breakout. On August 3rd a man convicted of armed robbery escaped out of the prison and got off the island and on August 8th two more prisoners escaped. On the night of August 31st four Gardai left Cobh Station for duty on Spike Island. They were not aware of the following: - 1.The approximate number of prisoners held in the prison. 2.The fact that many of those prisoners were in prison for very serious crimes and were highly dangerous. 3.That the dormitories in which many of those prisoners were sleeping were secured only by ordinary doors with a simple lock. 4.The fact that an array of dangerous weapons, such as scythes, slash hooks, forks, pick axes, pick axe handles, iron bars and long knives were readily available to prisoners should they escape. At 12.38 a.m. on Sunday 1st September the Station Orderly at Cobh Garda Station was informed by telephone from a prison officer at Fort Mitchel that 30 prisoners had broken out of their dormitory and were free within the prison compound. Shortly afterwards the telephone lines went dead due to a fire at the prison. It was very obvious from this stage that there was a crisis at the prison. The absence of any prearranged plan, guidelines or instructions to be followed in such an event became painfully obvious to members on duty on the island and in the Garda Station at Cobh. The situation deteriorated rapidly with communications to the prison cut off; the Gardai had no information as to what was happening inside the walls. The smoke rising from the prison indicated that a portion of the prison, at least, was on fire. At 1.15 a.m. a message was sent to Union Quay Station, Cork that there was a full scale riot in progress in Fort Mitchel and reinforcements were urgently required. 6 local members left Cobh for the island prison at 1.30 a.m. with no riot equipment other than their batons. At 2.20 a.m. 15 members from Cork and surrounding Stations left Cobh by launch. They had a few riot shields but no other equipment. The radio hand sets they were issued with were unable to transmit or receive messages. An adequate supply of riot shields did not arrive from Cork until 2.25 a.m. At 3 a.m. a further 25 members properly equipped took the launch from Cobh for Spike Island. This was one hour and 40 minutes after the Cork Divisional Headquarters had been notified of the urgent need for reinforcements. At this stage the original four members plus the 6 local members who had gone to the island when the alarm was first raised had barricaded themselves with approximately 15 Prison Officers inside the main gate of the prison. Spike Island was at this stage in the hands of approximately 70 masked and well-armed dangerous prisoners. They had broken into the prison store and armed themselves with all available weapons. They also located the prison drug supply and as a result many of them were high on drugs. They had wrecked and set fire to a large portion of the prison before scaling the wall and escaping onto the island. They converged on the pier with the apparent intention of commandeering a launch and escaping to the mainland. Residents of the island were terrified. The 10 Gardai present were powerless to protect them, in their efforts to protect the residents who assembled on the pier the Gardai were attacked by the rioters and had to retreat to the prison with some Prison Officers. The launch carrying the reinforcements to the prison was prevented from landing for some time at the pier, this area was now under the control of the prisoners who hurled rocks and stones at the launch when it ventured near. At approximately 3 a.m. the prisoners all left the pier and returned to the prison, where they endeavoured to smash their way in with the assistance of a JCB which they had taken with them from the pier. The situation of the members of the Prison Staff and the Gardai inside the prison at this stage was desperate. The members there had radio communication with Cobh Garda Station and kept them informed of the situation. The communication with the launch carrying the reinforcements, which numbered about 40, was through the port operations radio who passed on the information to the members on the launch. This launch finally landed with reinforcements on the pier at Spike Island at 4.50 a.m. At around 4.30 a.m. radio communication with the Gardai in the prison deteriorated and finally ceased because the batteries in their radios had become run down. There was then no contact whatsoever with the Gardai in the prison. The prisoners now, having failed to smash their way into the prison with the JCBs, had succeeded in entering and setting fire to the reception area of the prison. Several petrol bombs were thrown at the Prison Staff and the Gardai in the building. The prisoners then saw the reinforcements landing and they, the prisoners, climbed onto the roof of the prison having already set fire to another block of the prison where extensive damage was caused to property. At around 5.15 a.m. the reinforcements, accompanied by Assistant Commissioner Power, reached the prison, a great portion of which was then on fire. The Garda Representative Association wish to make the following points in relation to this disastrous incident. 1.Violent and Dangerous prisoners were confined in this open prison. 2.The Gardai were not aware of the total number nor the type of prisoner housed there. 3.There was no liaison between the Gardai and the Prison Staff at local level. 4.Dormitory doors were not secure enough to contain the type of prisoner being housed there. 5.No general alarm system had been provided in the prison. 6.No prison radio system was in operation. 7.Telephone contact with the prison was very poor. 8.No plan of action or clearly defined guidelines had been laid down, these to be followed in the event of a serious disturbance at the prison. 9.No provision had been made for the supply of adequate suitable riot equipment and reinforcements. 10.No provision was made to have suitable transport on call in the event of an emergency to take persons off the island or to get reinforcements onto it. 11.Garda Radio Communications was poor and inadequate. There seems to have been a belief prevailing that since nothing very serious had happened in the prison, there was no reason to expect that a serious incident would take place in the future. The reality is that the situation on Spike Island was permitted to develop without anybody apparently assessing the situation on an ongoing basis. The fact that only one person, a prison officer, was injured in this whole incident and that no prisoner succeeded in escaping from the island was purely fortuitous. There is no doubt but that the Gardai and Prison Officers on the island during the riot were extremely lucky. They had been attacked by well-armed masked dangerous criminals. The fact that the prisoners could break out of their cells, arm themselves, damage property, burn a great portion of the prison and virtually take over the island for a period of time while the handful of Gardai present and the Prison Officers had literally to watch on helplessly is a situation which cannot be allowed to be repeated. The Garda Representative Association believes that this entire episode could have been prevented had the situation as it built up been properly assessed and the necessary precautionary measures taken. To prevent a recurrence of the situation which arose on Spike Island the following suggestions are now being made by this Association: - 1.A general alarm system to be installed at the prison. 2.Around the clock radio operating in Fort Mitchel. 3.A direct telephone line to Cobh Garda Station, this line to be underground and less likely to be sabotaged 4.A better liaison be established between the Prison Staff and local Gardai. 5.Arrangements be made to have suitable transport readily available to transport reinforcements to the island in the event of an emergency. 6.Sufficient and adequate riot gear be readily available for Garda members. 7.That the Naval Base at Haulbowline which can be reached from Cork City, where the main reinforcements will have to come from, be used as the take-off point, and that suitable launches be available to transport members. This is the minimum we would expect to see done and done without delay. __________________________________ Brian McCabe Assistant General Secretary |
||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||
