FOLLOWING on from this morning’s story about YouTube video of inmates at Canberra’s Alexander Maconochie Centre fighting we now have an admission that the video is real and relatively current, and that the ACT Government is desperately trying to have it removed from YouTube despite it having propagated wildly.

“Yesterday footage was revealed of a fight claiming to have taken place within the Alexander Maconochie Centre (AMC),” Shane Rattenbury said.

“ACT Corrective Services, having reviewed the Youtube footage, has advised me that the fight did occur in a cell at the Alexander Maconochie Centre.

“ACT Corrective Services has not been able to confirm the time and date of this incident but it most likely occurred prior to 27 July 2014.

“ACT Corrective Services personnel have been able to identify the detainees who appear in the footage. Those four detainees are current detainees at the AMC.

“I can advise that targeted searches have been undertaken in regard to these detainees which have resulted in the seizure of contraband items, including a mobile phone. At this stage, it is not known if it is the same phone as that which recorded the footage.

“When the circumstances warrant it, ACT Corrective Services will report matters such as assault to ACT Policing regardless of whether a detainee chooses to report the matter. This can be expected to happen in this case.

“ACT Corrective Services has also contacted YouTube to request that the video be withdrawn for reasons of security and privacy. YouTube have now restricted the footage; it can only be viewed by people 18 years and over.

“ACT Corrective Services will continue request that the footage be removed.”