Multiple procedural failures at a NSW correctional facility resulted in a corrections officer being subjected to ‘torture’ and life-long injuries during a hostage situation. NSW Dept. of Communities and Justice, Corrective Services NSW received a $600,000 fine and conviction for their failure to prioritise worker safety.
The officer’s life-long injuries were not just the result of inmate violence, but the end-result of gaps in safety protocols, poor risk mitigation, and failure to implement reasonable control measures to manage foreseeable risks. Although his employer did not cause the violence to occur, they did cause him to be exposed to the risk.
This case should serve as a learning moment for correctional facilities across the country. Those who put their lives on the line every day in such a dangerous work environment deserve strong safety leadership that is consultative, pro-active and rigorous.
During December 2020 two inmates at MNCCC ambushed two correctional officers and rushed them into the officers’ station area. One officer was able to escape with moderate injuries, but the remaining officer was held for more than six hours, during which time he was seriously physically and psychologically injured.
Whilst the hostage situation itself could have been prevented by implementing an access management procedures requiring staff to enter high-risk inmate areas via airlock doors, further lapses in established basic procedures increased the likelihood of harm.
While the nature of the work undertaken in correctional centres means that risk cannot at all times be eliminated, thorough risk assessments would show such obvious hazards with straightforward and inexpensive steps available to minimise the risk.
