Corrections and home detention officers at seven of South Australia’s prisons have put down the tools, sending the justice system into crisis.
Seven of South Australia’s prisons have been in lockdown since 7:30am on Monday (8 December), when corrections officers voted to strike over the marked rise in violence and an unstable workforce.
The action has meant over 2,000 people across the Yatala Labour Prison, Port Augusta Prison, Mobilong Prison, Port Lincoln Prison, Cadell Prison, Adelaide Women’s Prison, and the Adelaide Pre-release Centre have been confined to their cells for over 48 hours.
On Wednesday (10 December) morning, corrections officers voted to enter a “unprecedented” 72-hour lockdown.
They were joined in the vote by home detention officers, who are responsible for the ankle monitoring of 1,500 offenders.
The lockdown followed a savage beating of an inmate at Yatala, resulting in metal plates being surgically inserted into his face.
In the last month, the same prison saw two other inmates “bashed into unconsciousness”, according to the Public Service Association of SA.
In October, a female inmate used a metal pole to inflict life-threatening head and neck injuries on another inmate and severed her finger. A corrections officer broke her hand trying to disarm her.
Public Service Association’s general secretary Charlotte Watson said the officers needed to see “safe prisons with a productive workforce”.
As a result of the rising violence and low wages, corrections officers have been leaving for other careers.
“Violence is out of hand, and our members won’t take it anymore.
“Corrections officers are not punching bags,” Watson said.
Prison officers in NSW went on strike in late October to protest what they referred to as a “slap on the wrist” punishment for a prisoner who assaulted and hospitalised four officers.
Following an urgent hearing before the Industrial Relations Commission, the prison officers were ordered to return to work.
Naomi Neilson is a senior journalist with a focus on court reporting for Lawyers Weekly.
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