The Death of Mr Carl Williams at HMP Barwon
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
VICTORIAN The death of Mr Carl Williams at HM Barwon Prison – investigation into Corrections Victoria April 2012 Ordered to be printed Victorian government printer Session 2010 - 12 P.P. No. 127 www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au Letter to the Legislative Council and the Legislative Assembly To The Honourable the President of the Legislative Council and The Honourable the Speaker of the Legislative Assembly Pursuant to sections 25 and 25AA of the Ombudsman Act 1973, I present to Parliament my report into the death of Mr Carl Williams at HM Barwon Prison – investigation into Corrections Victoria. G E Brouwer OMBUDSMAN 17 April 2012 letter to the legislative council and the legislative assembly 1 www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au CONTENTS PAGE CHRONOLOGY 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 1. BACKGROUND 17 2. INVESTIGATION 19 3. PLACEMENT DECISION – RISK ASSESSMENT 20 Prisoner placement decisions 21 Inadequate monitoring of the placement decision 34 Poor record-keeping practices of Corrections Victoria 40 Failure to consider intelligence information and key events 44 Failure to implement the Comrie Review 63 4. MONITORING SYSTEMS 68 Closed circuit television coverage of the Acacia Unit 68 Failure to conduct a risk assessment of equipment 78 Incident response 82 Other systems used to control prisoner communication 85 5. ADMINSTRATION OF JUSTICE PERMITS 97 Permit decision-making process 98 Corrections Victoria’s record-keeping 108 6. MANAGEMENT OF THE ACACIA UNIT 115 Rotation of staff in the Acacia Unit 119 Inadequate supervision of night shift staff 120 The culture in the Acacia Unit 122 Recruitment of prison officers 132 Cricket in the Acacia Unit 135 7. THE OFFICE OF CORRECTIONAL SERVICES REVIEW 137 The OCSR’s role 137 The OCSR’s performance 139 The OCSR’s investigation concerning Mr Williams’ death 139 The Secretary’s roles 144 SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 148 APPENDICES 156 APPENDIX 1 156 The role of Corrections Victoria 156 The Major Offenders Unit 156 HM Barwon Prison 157 The Acacia Unit 157 2 death of mr carl williams – investigation into corrections victoria www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au APPENDIX 2 159 Mr Williams’ correctional history 159 Mr Johnson’s correctional history 159 Mr Ivanovic’s correctional history 160 APPENDIX 3 161 APPENDIX 4 163 contents 3 www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au CHRONOLOGY The following is a chronology of key events regarding Corrections Victoria’s management of Mr Carl Williams at Barwon Prison: 9 June 2004 Mr Williams received into Barwon Prison after being charged with conspiracy to murder. October 2007 Mr Matthew Johnson moved to the Melaleuca Unit at Barwon Prison and noted by prison staff ot be talking with Mr Williams and his father. December 2007 – July 2008 Mr Williams and Mr Johnson noted to be interacting with each other intermittently while located in the Melaleuca Unit. October – November 2008 Mr Williams elects to become a witness in relation to murder charges against a former police officer and another individual. 22 – 30 December 2008 Mr Williams removed from Barwon Prison by Victoria Police on an Administration of Justice Permit to assist with giving evidence as a witness. 6 January 2009 Email sent by Mr Rod Wise, Acting Commissioner Corrections Victoria to Ms Penny Armytage, Secretary of the Department of Justice, regarding the placement of Mr Johnson with Mr Williams. 20 January 2009 Decision made by Sentence Management Panel to approve the placement of Mr Williams, his father and Mr Johnson in the Melaleuca Unit. 23 January 2009 Mr Johnson moved to the Melaleuca Unit to be placed with Mr Williams and his father. 4 death of mr carl williams – investigation into corrections victoria www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au 13 May 2009 Mr Williams, Mr George Williams and Mr Johnson moved to Unit One of the Acacia Unit. 20 June 2009 Mr George Williams released from Barwon Prison on parole. 29 July 2009 Mr Thomas Ivanovic moved into Unit One of the Acacia Unit with Mr Williams and Mr Johnson. 27 - 28 February 2010 Mr Williams removed from Barwon Prison by Victoria Police on an Administration of Justice Permit to assist with giving evidence as a witness. 19 April 2010 The death of Mr Williams. 29 September 2011 Mr Johnson convicted of the murder of Mr Williams. 8 December 2011 Mr Johnson is sentenced to a minimum of 32 years in prison for the murder of Mr Williams. chronology 5 www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 1. On Monday 19 April 2010 at 12.48 pm, Mr Carl Williams, a high profile prisoner being held in custody at the maximum security HM Barwon Prison Acacia Unit, was assaulted and killed. He was struck several times on the head by fellow prisoner, Mr Matthew Johnson, with a metal bar removed from the seat section of an exercise bike. The incident was captured on the prison’s closed circuit television (CCTV) system. 2. Mr Johnson was subsequently charged with the murder of Mr Williams. He was found guilty in the Supreme Court on 29 September 2011, and later sentenced to a minimum of 32 years in prison. 3. Mr Williams’ death raises important questions as to how it is possible that a high profile prisoner in Victoria’s highest security prison unit could be killed with an unsecured metal pipe from an exercise bike, and that prison staff did not find out about the incident for some 27 minutes. This raises important concerns about the monitoring systems in place at Barwon Prison. Mr Williams’ death raises important questions as to how it is possible that a high profile prisoner in Victoria’s highest security prison unit could be killed with an unsecured metal pipe from an exercise bike, and that prison staff did not find out about the incident for some 27 minutes. This raises important concerns about the monitoring systems in place at Barwon Prison. 4. In the aftermath of Mr Williams’ murder, there was considerable public speculation about the circumstances of, and possible motives for, his killing. 5. Immediately following Mr Williams’ murder, the Office of Correctional Services Review (OCSR), within the Department of Justice, commenced an administrative investigation into the incident. As the OCSR is a business unit within the Department of Justice and does not publicly report the findings of its investigations, I decided that it was in the public interest to conduct an investigation into Corrections Victoria’s management of Mr Williams while in custody at Barwon Prison. I also examined the OCSR’s investigation into issues arising from Mr Williams’ death. 6. As a result of my investigation, I consider that Corrections Victoria failed in its statutory duty to ensure Mr Williams’ safety. This case also highlights several shortcomings which need to be addressed by Corrections Victoria in its administration of Victoria’s correctional system. 7. My investigation focused on correctional matters that I am empowered to investigate under the Ombudsman Act 1973. 6 death of mr carl williams – investigation into corrections victoria www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au 8. The publication of my investigation report was delayed due to Mr Johnson’s trial in September – November 2011. Placement decision – risk assessment 9. In December 2008, Mr Johnson formally requested that Corrections Victoria allow him to be accommodated with Mr Williams as they had formed a friendship. Mr Williams also wrote to Corrections Victoria requesting Mr Johnson be placed with him. 10. Corrections Victoria’s Sentence Management Panel approved the placement of Mr Johnson with Mr Williams on 20 January 2009. In arriving at this decision, the Sentence Management Panel took into consideration support for the proposal received from: • the Secretary of the Department of Justice • the Acting Commissioner Corrections Victoria and • a Detective Inspector, Victoria Police. 11. Earlier in January 2009, the Secretary, Ms Penny Armytage, and the then Acting Commissioner, Mr Rod Wise, had been consulted regarding the risks to Mr Williams’ safety posed by Mr Johnson being placed with him. Corrections Victoria failed in its statutory duty to ensure Mr Williams’ safety. 12. In an email sent to Ms Armytage dated 6 January 2009, Mr Wise identified significant risks to Mr Williams’ safety should Mr Williams and Mr Johnson be placed together, stating that ‘there is little doubt that Johnson is capable of causing Williams harm if he were to find out the true nature of Williams’ cooperation with Police’. 13. Mr Wise cited three reasons as to why Mr Johnson might want to harm Mr Williams: • financial incentives – potentially offered by people against whom Mr Williams was giving evidence • an opportunity for Mr Johnson to enhance his reputation within the prison population • Mr Johnson was facing a [2007] murder charge, and any sentence for a second serious offence would run concurrently. 14. Notwithstanding these identified risks, Mr Wise and Ms Armytage supported the placement of Mr Johnson with Mr Williams. However, this was conditional on the basis the placement be carefully monitored. Both Mr Wise and Ms Armytage said at interview that Victoria Police’s support for the placement of Mr Johnson with Mr Williams was an important factor in Corrections Victoria’s decision-making. executive summary 7 www.ombudsman.vic.gov.au 15. Members of Victoria Police’s Taskforce Petra1 supported the proposed placement of Mr Johnson with Mr Williams. Mr Williams was a witness cooperating with police in relation to murder charges against a former police officer and another person. Mr Williams had requested that Mr Johnson be transferred to his unit, and had threatened to withdraw his testimony if this did not occur. Victoria Police wished to ensure Mr Williams’ cooperation as a witness, and therefore that his wishes as regards his placement in prison be accommodated. 16. Victoria Police considered Mr Johnson’s criminal history and noted that he was not aligned with any key members involved in Melbourne’s then long-running gangland violence.