Alexander Maconochie Centre to go smoke-free, sparking fears of inmate unrest

The clock is now ticking for around 200 smokers identified as on the habit in the most recent Healthy Prisons Report.

JACS wants all prisoners off the durries by August 7, with AMC the very last ACT-owned facility in the territory to make the transition to smoke-free.

However, in a prison filled with bored inmates and a revolving door of remand detainees entering the jail to await their court case while on a pack-a-day habit, it's a strategy fraught with huge risks.

Julie Tongs, the chief executive officers of Winnunga Nimmityjah Aboriginal Health Service said she had serious concerns about how the transition was being managed.

"I don't think the AMC is anywhere near ready to go smoke-free," she said.

"Illicit drugs are running freely inside the prison so what will happen is that tobacco will become just another form of contraband.

"People on the outside get a choice whether they can smoke or not but those on the inside won't. We already have people locked away in their cells at AMC for hours and hours because there are no programs or industries. To them, this is just another punishment.

"They will be climbing the walls."

Corrections officers who spoke to The Canberra Times on condition of anonymity said as much as they welcomed the move, they feared an unsettled and agitated inmate cohort inside the jail in the weeks ahead because tobacco is used as a currency inside the jail, and smoking as a way of easing the boredom.

The lack of a structured day for prisoners and acute boredom have been identified as key issues in repeated Healthy Prisons reports by the independent Inspector of Correctional Services. The latest report found 59 per cent of AMC prisoners smoked - mostly "roll-your-owns" to conserve tobacco - compared with 15 per cent of the general population.

Ms Tongs said a no-smoking transition "would have to be managed very carefully, and Corrections don't have a good record of doing that".

Prisoners with ready access to cigarette lighters is regarded by custodial staff as a significant safety and security risk. Four fires were lit during a riot in May 2021, generating a damage bill of $5.7 million.

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Back in 2015, riots broke out inside Victoria's Ravenhall prison and in Queensland's Gatton prison when the smoking bans rolled in.

Compounding the smoke-free transition issues for Canberra's minimum-to-maximum jail is that prisoners who are remanded by the court are not separated from the general sentenced population, as they should be under the Corrections Management Act.

So those that enter from the outside after August 23 with a chronic smoking habit will go directly into a smoke-free facility, which is almost certain to spark behavioural problems.

In a statement, ACT Corrections said "detainees are being supported throughout the transition and will not have to quit cold turkey".

"There will be a period of leniency after the policy is in place with an initial focus on therapeutic rather than disciplinary approaches," the statement said.

"Nicotine replacement therapies such as nicotine patches and lozenges have been made available to both staff and detainees since December 2022.

"Other quit smoking medications are available for detainees in the AMC and are administered through primary health providers."

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