NSW prisons in crisis: Staff fear they won’t meet new obligations

The state’s prisons are facing a major crisis, resulting in an increased number of prisoner phone calls being unmonitored, leaving staff concerned they will not be able to fulfil new obligations.

NSW prisons are in crisis. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The state’s prisons are facing a major staffing crisis, with the shortage of personnel resulting in an increasing number of prisoner phone calls being unmonitored and leaving staff concerned they will not be able to fulfil new obligations to transfer prisoners.

Corrective Services NSW is scrambling to staff prisons across the state as the prison population has ballooned by more than 1000 inmates since November 2023. The sector has been struggling to plug staffing gaps left by hundreds of workers on workers compensation.

The Daily Telegraph can reveal around 600 prison staff out of a total of 10,500 are currently on worker’s compensation or long term sick leave.

The critical shortages have put in jeopardy a new deal which will see corrective service officers take over prisoner transfer duties from police.

In June the Police Association of NSW directed its members to cease prisoner transport jobs, which drain police resources at a time there is a critical shortage of police numbers

A deal was reached earlier this month, in which all prisoner transfers will become the responsibility of corrections officers after a transition period of 18 months.

The state’s prisons are facing a major staffing crisis with the shortage putting a new deal for Corrections to take over prisoner transfer in jeopardy. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

PANSW president Kevin Morton in a message to members said the Department of Communities and Justice had agreed Corrective Services NSW would take over full responsibility of the transportation of bail-refused prisoners in ten high volume locations. They would also take over all transportation of female and juvenile prisoners.

“Let me be clear however, any failure of NSW Police and other agencies to fulfil these commitments we view as our opportunity to recommence instructions to our members regarding CSNSW duties,” Mr Morton said.

Corrective service officers say, while they agree they should be responsible for prisoner transfers, there is no way the transition can occur unless more resources are dedicated to increasing staff numbers and prisoner transfer vehicles.

The Public Service Association, which represents corrections officers, has called on the government to dramatically increase prison resources to implement the change.

Around 600 corrective services staff out of around 10,500 are on workers compensation. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

PSA member and corrective services officer at maximum security prison in NSW, Darren King said staff have been “yelling out for help” to better staff the system “in crisis”.

Due to chronic short staffing, prisons across the state now hold multiple emergency meetings a week, called Variable Operative Routines (VOR) to determine how to let prisoners out of their cells safely and which prisoners to keep locked up during the day.

Mr King said while VORs were supposed to be held rarely they were now “happening daily”.

“Up to any day we can be 50 per cent short staffed with people on workers compensation,” he said.

Additionally he said the lack of staff has made it harder to monitor prisoner’s use of technology including phone calls out of the prison.

“There’s been a lot of changes with the technology but we don’t seem to have the resources to manage it. We have a system where they’ve given every inmate an iPad but they haven’t actually provided the resources to look after them,” he said.

“It’s anarchy in regards to how many there are and accountability – inmates used to only have access to the phone during the daytime when they are out of their cells – now they’ve got access in their cells after hours.

“We don’t have the resources to monitor all the phone calls and the phone calls have gone through the roof.”

Stewart Little PSA General Secretary. Picture: Newswire / Gaye Gerard

PSA NSW secretary Stewart Little said there needed to be “more boots on the ground” and more vehicles to do the new transfer work. Currently CSNSW has a fleet of 100 vehicles.

“We’re short on officers, we’re short on trucks to transfer prisoners … you can’t just buy them, they have to be specially made,” he said.

“There’s been a massive upswing in the number of bail refused.

“It’s the brutal reality that when the prison population goes up, the incidents and assaults go up.”

Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong. Picture: NewsWire / Monique Harmer

Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong said CSNSW would “assist NSW Police in the transportation of bail-refused prisoners as and when agreed between the agencies”.

 A spokesperson for CSNSW acknowledged the department was “impacted by staff vacancies in prisons and court cell complexes at locations across the state”.

“Like many frontline agencies, workers compensation claims and sick leave contribute significantly to those vacancy rates,” the spokesperson said.

“CSNSW actively recruits staff to meet the changing needs of the organisation.”

A spokesperson for NSW Police said: “Police are working closely with Corrective Services NSW to establish new protocols to manage inmate transportation. Consultation is ongoing and will take time”.

Originally published as NSW prisons in crisis: Staff fear they won’t meet new obligations