Western Australia Special Operations Group

Country	Australia
Branch	Western Australia Department of Corrective Services
Role	Corrections, Critical Incident Response and High Risk Prisoner Escorts
Garrison/HQ	Statewide
Motto(s)	"No Excuses"

Special Operations Group

The Special Operations Group is a service agency within the Operational Services Division of the Department of Corrective Services. Based in the metropolitan area at the Hakea Prison Complex in Canning Vale, the SOG is the major provider of emergency support to all prisons and detention centres within the state:

Services include:

Responding to major incidents;
Security/auditing evaluation; ^[1]
High security escorts;
Searching;
Perimeter security;
Control room operations; and
Operational and emergency management training;

The SOG office is staffed 24 hours a day in order to provide a statewide response to emergency situations as required. When not providing an emergency response, SOG Officers undertake daily operational duties which may include high security escorts, search operations, security system testing and high visibility patrols of prisons. On occasion, operational duties or emergency responses may require intrastate, interstate and international air travel.

A typical day will also involve maintaining and upgrading work skills and qualifications through various training programs. Time is also allocated for strength and fitness, to ensure our SOG Officers can provide the highest standard of response.^[2]

Previously known as

Metropolitan Security Unit (MSU) ^[3]
Special Operations Unit (SOU) ^[4]^[5]
Emergency Support Group (ESG) ^[6]^[7]^[8]

Responses

Fremantle Prison riot 1988^[9]^[10]

As division 3 prisoners were let inside at around 4 pm, a voice exclaimed "Let's take 'em" and simultaneously, guards were splashed with boiling water, usually used for making tea. A horde of prisoners stormed the cellblock, attacking the guards with whatever they could find – metal plates and cutlery, food, "pieces of timber, buckets, water bottles, anything". The result was pandemonium; prisoners rushed along landings, overpowering officers and taking them hostage, while at the same time, other prisoners darted between cells, starting fires. The prisoners withdrew to the exercise yard, taking six hostages, as flames quickly overran the building, spread into the rafters, and caused the roof to collapse.

The prisoners surrounded their hostages, and in turn were besieged by an armed riot squad inside the prison, and the police riot encircled the prison. Skilled police negotiators communicated with the ring leaders, and by nightfall only five hostages remained. A sixth officer was to have been kept, but was released as he was seriously injured. Meanwhile, the fire brigade had trouble bringing the inferno in the main cell block under control. The prison's gate was too narrow for their trucks to pass, so they had to water the flames from outside, and prisoners impeded their endeavours by chucking debris at them, including segments of asbestos roofing. Eventually firemen were allowed inside to fight the fire, after prison officers with riot gear had stormed through a secondary group of prisoners, forcing them back along the wall.

Casuarina Prison riot 1998^[11]^[12]

The Casuarina Prison Riot took place on Christmas Day in 1998 at a high security male prison located near Perth in Western Australia. The riot started at 16:20 hours and ended at 20:45 hours (between 4 and 5 hours) and resulted in over A$250,000 worth of damage. There were 21 prison staff and 2 prisoners who required hospital treatment. Over 30 prisoners (ethnicity unknown) needed urgent medical treatment for the effect of drug overdose, as a result of prisoners breaking into a medical trolley left unattended in one of the units.

A small group of Emergency Support Officers and Casuarina Prison Officers confronted more than 100 prisoners armed with bricks, pieces of masonry, wooden stakes and metal bars, in a valiant attempt to regain control in one of the States worst prison riots on Christmas Day, 1998. Without protective gear and armed with only a baton, the ESG Superintendent led the first charge against the prisoners in an effort to rescue fellow officers trapped in accommodation units and gain control of the situation.

Hakea escape 2000^[13]

The worst breach of prison security in a decade began when the three prisoners took an old Toyota four-wheel-drive and a Nissan sedan from two workshops inside the prison about 1.50pm on Monday. The cars were being repaired by prisoners as part of their rehabilitation and skills workshops. The escapees crashed through two doors where vehicles enter and exit the prison site. With the four-wheel-drive leading, the three men made it to a perimeter area outside the main compound but still had one big fence between them and freedom. The two cars gathered speed in the perimeter area, which is overseen by guards in towers. The cars veered away from a concrete wall and steered towards a metal fence lashed with razor wire, smashing into it at between 60 and 70 km/h. But the wire fence held firm and acted like a net, trapping the four-wheel-drive. The sedan then crashed into the back of it. The prisoners found a gap in the fence and ran to freedom, running up a small sand dune and into surrounding bush.

As the escapees raced into a nearby housing estate, ESG officers armed with shotguns patrolled the site of the breakout to foil other escapees. Meanwhile, unarmed officers from the prison's Emergency Support Group drove into the housing estate in an unmarked station wagon in a bid to track the escapees. The prisoners confronted a tradesman, demanding the keys to his old van and sped off. A car was sideswiped during a short chase that ended when the prison officers rammed the tradesman's van. Officers recaptured the three escapees after a struggle at the side of the road.

Banksia Hill Juvenile Detention Centre Riot 2013^[14]

On 20 January 2013 Banksia Hill was holding a total of 206 detainees. they ranged in age from 13 to 19 years and 185 were male and 21 were female.

The normal lockdown time is 6.00 pm, but at 5.45 pm, staff around lenard unit noticed some unusual detainee interactions and signals. they contacted the shift manager who immediately advised staff in lenard to commence the evening lockdown early. as soon as the process of lockdown had started three male detainees absconded from the unit. The situation then escalated rapidly, with more and more detainees being assisted to break out of their cells. for the next hour and a half, detainees ran unimpeded around the centre causing considerable damage, especially to the living units. They formed and split groups fluidly, while assisting more and more detainees to get out of their cells.

The ESG superintendent took control of resolving the incident. He planned a response utilising all available resources, including the police and the canine unit. extensive planning was undertaken on how to contain the detainees, prior to entering the facility. Once entering the facility, ESG and the police executed a coordinated response that resulted in the reapprehension of the majority of detainees known to be out of their cells within 10 minutes. However while these detainees were being apprehended, other detainees continued to break out of their cells. it took a further four to five hours to secure all the detainees.

References

External links

{http://www.correctiveservices.wa.gov.au/careers/opportunities/esg.aspx

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