(1) The Commissioner may direct that an inmate be held in protective custody if of the opinion that the association of the inmate with other inmates constitutes or is likely to constitute a threat to the personal safety of the inmate.
(2) The Commissioner may also direct that an inmate be held in protective custody if the inmate requests the Commissioner in writing to do so.
(3) The governor of a correctional centre may exercise the Commissioner's functions under this section in relation to the correctional centre and, on each occasion he or she does so, must notify the Commissioner of that fact and of the grounds on which the protective custody direction was given.
(4) A protective custody direction given by the governor of a correctional centre does not apply in relation to any other correctional centre.
(5) Subsection (4) is subject to section 15.