Australia's onshore immigration detention system, operated by American private prison company Management and Training Corporation (MTC) under a $2.3bn government contract, has introduced a blanket policy requiring all detainees to be handcuffed during transport and escort, regardless of individual risk level. The directive, issued after more than a dozen escapes or attempted escapes since MTC took over operations in March last year, allows exceptions only for medical reasons and also raises the minimum number of staff required for higher-risk escorts from three to four. The policy shift follows a series of serious incidents at Villawood Immigration Detention Centre in Sydney, including an alleged arson at an unstaffed compound and a case in which a high-risk detainee was transported in an ordinary, unsecured vehicle without restraints before allegedly stabbing two staff members and fleeing.