A Prison Authority was found negligent for failing to prevent the assault of a convicted rapist by other inmates.

The Supreme Court of NSW has recently found that a prison authority was negligent when it failed to prevent an attack against a prisoner by other inmates.

The prisoner was on remand awaiting sentencing for sexual assault occasioning grievous bodily harm as well as break and enter and assault convictions.

Senior officials of the prison authority were informed that other inmates had discovered the nature of the prisoner’s conviction and were overheard planning an attack on the prisoner.

The prison authority advised the prisoner that he might be at risk but failed to inform the prisoner of the details of the information received, including that his charges had been uncovered by the other inmates. The Authority also failed to inform the guards on duty of the risk. The prisoner refused segregation and was required to sign a document to that effect.

The Prisoner suffered severe head injuries a week later when he was attacked by three inmates and struck repeatedly with a sandwich maker.

The Judge found that:

  • the prison authority had a duty to take reasonable care to prevent harm to the prisoner stemming from the unlawful activities of third parties
  • the risk of harm was foreseeable and ‘the steps that were taken were simply inadequate and showed a lack of insight into the immediacy of the threat and obvious reasonable precautions that could have been taken to avoid the risk’
  • the burden of taking such precautions was minor and that the prison authority had the power to put the plaintiff into segregation with or without his consent

The Judge noted in particular that the prisoner was not informed of the reasons behind the planned attack.

Costs and damages are to be determined by another court.

If you would like James to address a particular legal issue, send your request to james.blaxland@ticliblaxland.com.au

This article is intended to be for information and educational purposes only and cannot be relied upon as legal advice. The information may not apply to your circumstances or to your particular situation. If you need specific advice or you have any questions, we welcome you to contact us directly.