On 1 April 1997, 120 prisoners managed to escape from the secure unit by 'melting' the lexen walls with toasters & other items, making their way to the central officers unit and then going on into the low security residential area where they were joined by hundreds of angry inmates protesting the new prison policy of it being a non-smoking facility.

It took six hours before the centre's Custodial Officers and the TRG (tactical response group) finally resumed control.

Woodford Correction Centre withdrew the ban on smoking in an effort to placate inmates.

[2] Woodford Correctional Facility now has a total ban on smoking, which began in May 2014 due to a change in Queensland Government policy.

[3] Scott Lawrence Topping, 22, was serving time for $1,200 worth of unpaid traffic fines when he was murdered inside Woodford Correctional Centre, Queensland, on 12 September 1997.