Lotus Glen Correctional Centre
 | |
| Location | Mareeba, Queensland |
|---|---|
| Status | Operational |
| Security class | High, Medium, Low and Open Security. (Male Only) |
| Capacity | Main – 396 Farm (Open Security) – 115 |
| Opened | 1989 |
| Managed by | Queensland Corrective Services |
 | This article needs additional citations for verification. (October 2009) |
Lotus Glen Correctional Centre is an Australian prison facility located 14 km south of Mareeba and 20 km north of Atherton in the locality of Arriga in Far North Queensland. Lotus Glen provides a correctional service for high, medium, low and open classification inmates, including a Prison Farm with a capacity for 115 "open security" inmates.
Population
[edit]Lotus Glen's "catchment area" for its inmate population includes Cairns, The Cape York Region, The Torres Strait Islands and other isolated communities. The centre has a total capacity of 498 (398 within the secure unit and 100 at the centre's farm). Generally, 60% - 70% of the population of the centre are Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander persons.[citation needed]
Facilities
[edit]The centre is used as a remand and reception facility and provides the programs necessary to induct both first time inmates and repeat offenders into the correctional environment. The facility runs work programs in the fields of both farming and industry, providing useful skills to the inmates in preparation for their release.
Facilities are being expanded to house 300 secure cells and 24 low-security farm beds at a cost of A$445 million. The new buildings have been built outside the existing secure area and are expected to be completed by December 2011.[1]
Programs
[edit]Cultural programs are conducted at Lotus Glen in response to the centre's high Indigenous population. Specialist Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander staff including correctional officers are employed to meet the needs of the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander prisoners. These needs are met through cultural programs, Elder visits, regular community visits, and ensuring that family ties are maintained.
The facility also runs a prison farm for low and open security inmates.The Lotus Glen Prison Farm, Queensland's largest low-custody correctional facility, sits on approximately 2,500 acres about 100 kilometers west of Cairns. Established in 1986, it accommodates 134 prisoners who work across various agricultural operations including a cattle program raising Brahman/Droughtmaster cross cattle known for their exceptionally quiet temperament, aquaponics systems producing barramundi and vegetables, and a eucalyptus plantation with 15,000 trees. The farm serves multiple purposes: providing prisoners with valu agricultural skills and vocational certifications, generating approximately $100,000 annually through cattle sales, barramundi for restocking Lake Tinaroo, and eucalyptus leaves for koalas at wildlife parks. [2][3][4] This prison farm is located "immediately beside the high security prison."[5]
In 2017, due to a new program of medication, Lotus Glen became Australia's first Hepatitis C-free prison. [6]
See also
[edit]
References
[edit]- ^ "Lotus Glen prison expansion enters new phase". projectlink.com.au. Reach Business Pty Ltd. 30 July 2009. Archived from the original on 30 September 2009. Retrieved 27 October 2009.
- ^ "How cattle raised on a prison farm are being used to help feed the needy". ABC News. 25 August 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
- ^ "This farm looks like any other, but there's a key difference — the animals here are looked after by prisoners". ABC News. 17 November 2023. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
- ^ "Cattle raised by FNQ prisoners a stand-out in their field". ABC News. 7 October 2017. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
- ^ Honeywell (2 July 2020). "Case study: Queensland Corrective Services" (PDF).
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Lotus Glen is Australia's first hepatitis C-free prison". Hepatitis C Education and Prevention Society. 2 May 2017. Retrieved 3 February 2018.