Latest / 360 with Katie Woolf / NT United Workers Union Erina Early says the prisoner to staff ratio at the Alice Springs jail is 110 inmates to 1 officer at certain times

Transcript

NT United Workers Union Erina Early says the prisoner to staff ratio at the Alice Springs jail is 110 inmates to 1 officer at certain times · 360 with Katie Woolf

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: What we do know this morning is that corrections offices
• 0:03
  Speaker 1: have been deployed from Darwin to Alice Springs Correctional Center
• 0:06
  Speaker 1: as it continues to battle staffing shortages. Now it has
• 0:10
  Speaker 1: been reported that ten officers were sent to the center.
• 0:13
  Speaker 1: A mid fear is that it would have to stop
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: visitations as well as programs for prisoners due to critical understaffing. Now,
• 0:20
  Speaker 1: joining me on the line with additional information and to
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: tell us more about exactly what is going on at
• 0:25
  Speaker 1: this point is Erina Early from the Northern Territory United
• 0:29
  Speaker 1: Workers Union. Good morning to.
• 0:30
  Speaker 2: You, Hey, Katie, how are you?
• 0:33
  Speaker 3: Yeah? Really good?
• 0:33
  Speaker 1: Great to have you on the show. Erina, tell me
• 0:36
  Speaker 1: why were these officers sent to Alice Springs.
• 0:40
  Speaker 2: Well, Katie, as you've probably known from previous times you've
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: had a track is Alice Springs have not been fully
• 0:47
  Speaker 2: staffed since they opened over thirty years ago. Over the
• 0:52
  Speaker 2: last six months, it's been crisis level at Alice Springs
• 0:56
  Speaker 2: Corrections with the short staffing officers.
• 1:01
  Speaker 1: Erina, what makes you say that it's at crisis levels?
• 1:04
  Speaker 3: Can you describe that for us?
• 1:07
  Speaker 2: So when I'm using crisis level, I'm trying not to
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: use it. Flippidy is for example, you've got three hundred
• 1:13
  Speaker 2: and thirty prisoners locked away in the evening and we've
• 1:18
  Speaker 2: only got three officers.
• 1:20
  Speaker 1: What yes, so one officer like per one hundred prisoner.
• 1:26
  Speaker 2: Absolutely, So you know, we're getting down to these low
• 1:30
  Speaker 2: levels and we're constantly round about thirty eight officers short
• 1:34
  Speaker 2: each shift, etc. In Alice Springs.
• 1:39
  Speaker 3: Erin of those numbers are massive.
• 1:42
  Speaker 1: I mean you're talking about overnight there, so I think
• 1:44
  Speaker 1: you said three hundred and thirty prisoners and then you've
• 1:46
  Speaker 1: got three officers you know, to look after all of
• 1:50
  Speaker 1: them while they are obviously locked up overnight.
• 1:52
  Speaker 3: What are the numbers like during the day.
• 1:55
  Speaker 2: During the day, roughly you're looking roughly between between twenty
• 1:59
  Speaker 2: eight to thirty eight being short. And we had Commission
• 2:02
  Speaker 2: of Varley mentioned a couple of weeks ago to the
• 2:07
  Speaker 2: media that there's no issue in Alice Springs and within
• 2:10
  Speaker 2: forty eight hours of him making this announcement to the media,
• 2:15
  Speaker 2: further crisis levels and ten correctional officers in Darwin was
• 2:19
  Speaker 2: sent to Alice Springs to help out.
• 2:21
  Speaker 1: So how long are those officers therefore, that were sent
• 2:24
  Speaker 1: from Darwin to Alice.
• 2:26
  Speaker 2: They're leaving this weekend most of the leaving this weekend.
• 2:29
  Speaker 3: And so what's going to happen.
• 2:30
  Speaker 2: Then we're back to the crisis level and Alice Springs.
• 2:34
  Speaker 2: We were hoping they might be able to extend some
• 2:36
  Speaker 2: of the Office Darwen officers coming down to help Alice
• 2:39
  Speaker 2: Springs members. They've actually had a bit of a thy
• 2:42
  Speaker 2: release having these additional officers, but we've been advised at
• 2:47
  Speaker 2: this stage there's no intention to continue this Aarona.
• 2:53
  Speaker 1: Why is it so difficult to recruit staff and to
• 2:57
  Speaker 1: recruit correctional officers in Alice Springs?
• 3:01
  Speaker 2: Well, it's interesting, Katie. I think we've got definitely attraction
• 3:05
  Speaker 2: and attention. We seem to be having officers over the
• 3:09
  Speaker 2: last couple of years. We were getting them, but they
• 3:11
  Speaker 2: weren't staying. We've got a high rate of assaults. Also
• 3:16
  Speaker 2: too is people they're doing a lot of overtime because
• 3:20
  Speaker 2: of the short starting etc. So they are burnt out.
• 3:24
  Speaker 2: They've got high mental health issues as well, and they
• 3:28
  Speaker 2: feel that they're undervalued and disrespected by management. Is a
• 3:31
  Speaker 2: very toxic workplace.
• 3:33
  Speaker 1: Have we ever seen a situation before, like in your
• 3:36
  Speaker 1: time with the union, have you ever seen a situation
• 3:38
  Speaker 1: before where officers have had to be deployed from Darwin
• 3:42
  Speaker 1: to Alla Springs correctional facility.
• 3:45
  Speaker 2: What this many, Kati. I've been with the union over
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: sixteen years now and they've only employed like a couple
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: to help out, but not as many as can be
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: flown down there. This is the first time we've had this.
• 3:57
  Speaker 1: So there's obviously some big concerns when it comes to
• 3:59
  Speaker 1: the those staffing levels. What's the situation like for us
• 4:03
  Speaker 1: up here in Darwin at the moment? Have we got
• 4:05
  Speaker 1: enough staff at the correctional facility in Darwin?
• 4:09
  Speaker 2: So Darwin is still short stuff, but not to the
• 4:12
  Speaker 2: levels and the crisis levels Alice Springs, And that's why
• 4:16
  Speaker 2: Darwin call to help accommodate to bring some down. So
• 4:19
  Speaker 2: currently they have and the Commissioner Balley has mentioned they're
• 4:22
  Speaker 2: roughly recruited about sixty officers. But the thing is they've
• 4:26
  Speaker 2: actually lost about forty to fifty correctional officers and out
• 4:31
  Speaker 2: of those sixty that the Commissioner refers to, only six
• 4:34
  Speaker 2: week to Alice Springs.
• 4:37
  Speaker 1: Erina, can I ask, you know, we talk about those
• 4:40
  Speaker 1: the number of prisoners and the number of officers, you know,
• 4:43
  Speaker 1: sort of per per prisoners. What are those staffing levels
• 4:46
  Speaker 1: supposed to be. Like I mean, I know many years
• 4:49
  Speaker 1: ago when I used to lifeguard at the pool, there's
• 4:51
  Speaker 1: a certain number of people that should be in the
• 4:53
  Speaker 1: pool at any one time, and a certain number of
• 4:55
  Speaker 1: lifeguards that should be their supervising them. Is there a
• 4:58
  Speaker 1: situation like that, We're it's a prisoner to correctional services
• 5:01
  Speaker 1: officer ratio that should be met.
• 5:05
  Speaker 2: Yees, So we do have safe starting levels, and we
• 5:08
  Speaker 2: can't actually discuss too much of that because of the
• 5:10
  Speaker 2: security of the prison, Katie, Okay, but say, for example,
• 5:14
  Speaker 2: in Alice Springs, is there should be a there should
• 5:17
  Speaker 2: be a to be fully start you need roughly about
• 5:20
  Speaker 2: one hundred and eighty rostered officers.
• 5:22
  Speaker 3: Right, And are we there? Obviously not, We're not even half.
• 5:28
  Speaker 1: We're two from here, Erina, Because I guess the big
• 5:31
  Speaker 1: thing is, you know, we all understand that these pay
• 5:34
  Speaker 1: negotiations are continuing on and the wage freeze is you know,
• 5:38
  Speaker 1: has changed somewhat over recent weeks. But from what I
• 5:41
  Speaker 1: can gather with the correctional officers, it's more about the
• 5:45
  Speaker 1: actual you know, the conditions and their safety concerns rather
• 5:49
  Speaker 1: than the pay. Am I correct in making that statement?
• 5:53
  Speaker 2: Yes? So their safety and their number one claim in
• 5:56
  Speaker 2: their enterprise agreement Katie, than it is the wages as well,
• 6:00
  Speaker 2: because two percent is way too low.
• 6:02
  Speaker 3: So where to from here? What's going to happen?
• 6:05
  Speaker 1: You know, if we have got a situation where the
• 6:07
  Speaker 1: prisons are overflowing it seems or there is a lot
• 6:09
  Speaker 1: of prisoners and it doesn't seem as though there is
• 6:13
  Speaker 1: the you know enough correctional services offices.
• 6:17
  Speaker 2: Well, we are having discussions with the Minister in regards
• 6:21
  Speaker 2: to that correction, especially the crisis levels and Alice springs,
• 6:26
  Speaker 2: but we're getting to a stage and especially with the
• 6:28
  Speaker 2: Enterprise agreement too, is it's not moving quick enough Katie.
• 6:33
  Speaker 2: So basically, if we could be in a position where corrections,
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: especially Alice spreens, correctional officers are seriously considering walking off
• 6:41
  Speaker 2: and not coming back until the starting level is actually resolved, Erona, can.
• 6:46
  Speaker 1: I ask as well, do you have any idea at
• 6:49
  Speaker 1: this point in time? I know quite some time back
• 6:52
  Speaker 1: there was serious damage caused at you know, at the
• 6:55
  Speaker 1: correctional facility here in Darwin as a result of a
• 6:58
  Speaker 1: riot that had happened in a Has that been fixed
• 7:01
  Speaker 1: or where are things at with that?
• 7:04
  Speaker 2: It's Okay, they've only just started now working on that,
• 7:07
  Speaker 2: so it's currently getting fixed. Now.
• 7:10
  Speaker 3: How long ago did that damage happen?
• 7:12
  Speaker 2: You were two years ago and so it's.
• 7:15
  Speaker 1: Just starting to be fixed now. Have you been given
• 7:17
  Speaker 1: any idea as to why it's taken so long?
• 7:21
  Speaker 2: I think it's government red tape, Katie, I think and
• 7:24
  Speaker 2: stuff there. So just show your priority. You know that
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: the department looks at, you know, making these changes to
• 7:31
  Speaker 2: the prison because the officers have to walk past us
• 7:33
  Speaker 2: every day. It's not good for their mental health seeing
• 7:37
  Speaker 2: you know, it gives them flashbacks and reminders what happened
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: at that riot. So those riots were very scary.
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: What's that like? Does it mean that there are that
• 7:47
  Speaker 3: there's not?
• 7:47
  Speaker 1: Like? Does it have an impact in terms of where
• 7:50
  Speaker 1: the prisoners are are housed or is it more office space?
• 7:53
  Speaker 1: What's the go in terms of the area that is damaged.
• 7:57
  Speaker 2: Yeah, so when you do have a damaged area in corrections,
• 8:00
  Speaker 2: they will have to send you where it is and
• 8:02
  Speaker 2: then they will have to move prisoners around. Then they
• 8:05
  Speaker 2: have to move around like operational things like cameras and
• 8:09
  Speaker 2: all of those type of things. So it's not just
• 8:11
  Speaker 2: an easy process. We're just going to move people here
• 8:13
  Speaker 2: next door. It can completely change the whole operations and
• 8:17
  Speaker 2: security of the correctional center.
• 8:20
  Speaker 1: All right, Well, very interesting stuff and very interesting to
• 8:24
  Speaker 1: hear that works only just started on rectifying that part
• 8:28
  Speaker 1: of the prison erin early We always appreciate your time.
• 8:31
  Speaker 1: Thanks very much for having a chat with us this morning.
• 8:34
  Speaker 2: Thanks Katie, have a great day you too.