The decision of the NSW Industrial Relations Commission on 10 December to permit a halving of the numbers of court security officers supervising at-risk prisoners will endanger the safety of both prison officers and prisoners, says Greens Corrective Services spokesperson Sylvia Hale MLC.
“When they enter a court cell complex, prisoners are assessed for the likelihood of self-harm. Many of those arrested may be deeply depressed, psychologically disturbed, or paranoid. Their problems can be aggravated by alcohol, drugs, or by the circumstances of their arrest,” said Ms Hale.
“It is critical that trained officers closely monitor such prisoners if the risks of self-farm or death are to minimised.
“It is very worrying, therefore, that rather than one officer monitoring two at-risk prisoners, from now on one officer will monitor four.
“To argue that fewer officers are needed, because officers can observe prisoners on CCTV screens, ignores the fact that, if an officer is attending to one prisoner, he is highly unlikely to be able to keep on eye on another three whose behaviour may be erratic, unpredictable and life-threatening.
“Each of the four people being monitored has already been assessed as posing a particular risk to themselves and, by extension, to prison officers.
“The IRC’s judgment acknowledges the possibility of prison officers being held responsible for the increased possibility of deaths or injury in custody and seeks to absolve officers of that responsibility,
‘Provided that a staff member has acted properly in the cause of their employment in a Court cell complex, that staff member shall not be subject to disciplinary action arising from an incident that may occur in the Court cell complex as a result of reduced staffing levels operating in that Court cell complex.’ (p.9)
“In effect the judgment is saying, ‘ If things go wrong, you won’t be blamed’.
“That is cold comfort for families of prisoners who might suicide or harm themselves because there weren’t enough officers on duty to monitor what was going on.
“The record of New South Wales in relation to deaths in custody is not so unblemished as to believe that any reduction in monitoring of at-risk prisoners is acceptable.
“To make cost savings at the risk of further endangering anyone’s life is unacceptable,” said Ms Hale.
Contact: Colin Hesse on 02 9230 3030 or 0401 719 124
Sylvia Hale MLC Ph. 02 9230 3030 Email: sylvia.hale@parliament.nsw.gov.au Postal:
Sylvia Hale MLC, NSW Parliament, Macquarie Street, Sydney, 2000.