Prison staff locked in jail for 45 minutes after hi-tech ‘glitch’

PRISON officers claim they were put at serious risk yesterday when they were locked in with prisoners after a hi-tech security system malfunctioned for 45 minutes.

The Prison Officers Association was outraged by the security breakdown, which they claim put those members locked in with prisoners at serious risk.

The claim was rejected by the Prison Service, which said, while the electronic security system was down for 45 minutes, prison staff were only locked in with prisoners for an extra ten or 15 minutes as the gates and doors were manually opened.

The breakdown of the electronic palm reader system at Castlerea Prison, Co Roscommon, is thought to be the first incident of its type in the Prison Service. The palm recognition system controls access through gates and doors and went down at 11am yesterday.

“All the automated gates at Castlerea Prison locked and malfunctioned, no one could get in or out for 45 minutes,” said Eugene Dennehy, deputy general secretary of the POA.

“All staff, prison officers, teachers and welfare staff, were locked in with prisoners at various locations, exercise yards, classrooms, recreational halls and landings. The seriousness of this could not be overstated. What if a staff member was attacked or taken hostage? We couldn’t get access.

“No doubt we will be writing to Prison Service to ask for an urgent meeting. We will be talking to other relevant authorities such as the Health and Safety Authority.”

A spokesperson for the Prison Service rejected the suggestion there was “any hint of a dangerous security incident”. He said there was a “temporary glitch” with the electronic palm recognition system, which dates from the 1990s.

“If there had been an incident, I’m told it would have been dealt with in a normal fashion. If anyone called for immediate backup they would have got it.”