Rockhampton jail internal review amid staff complaints

Prison staff and union leaders have expressed concern about workplace practices, behaviour, engagement and communication at Capricornia Correctional Centre.

EXCLUSIVE: A review into the workplace culture at the Capricornia Correctional Centre has been launched after concerns were raised by prison staff and union leaders.

The Morning Bulletin can reveal Queensland Corrective Services announced to its staff on July 9 that an independent external review would take place into the workplace culture at the Etna Creek prison north of Rockhampton.

Many incidents at the prison have come under public scrutiny over the years including drug overdoses, inmate deaths, overcrowding, guard shortages, riots and officers being charged with misconduct and assault offences.

As part of the review, all prison officers will be invited to meet with an independent external consultant in a confidential setting about workplace culture and opportunities for improvement.

A QCS spokesperson said it wastimely for a review into workplace culture to ensure that officers who were most familiar with its operations could provide input into how best to meet the challenges ahead.

“The review will provide all officers the opportunity to explore opportunities to improve workplace culture and to identify strategies to align with the values and standards of a professional, high performing corrective services agency,” the spokesperson said.

At the conclusion of the review, key findings and opportunities will be shared with the officers.

Time-lapse drone images capturing the construction progress for the expansion of the Capricornia Correctional Centre.

Townsville Correctional Centre undertook a similar process in 2019 which 79 officers participated in and the review findings were handed down in June 2020.

The review exposed behaviours and concerns of poor managerial conduct, belittling treatment of officers, bullying, lack of action from complaints from prisoners and employees, fear of officer wellbeing and safety and more damning concerns at the Townsville prison.

The Rockhampton prison has recently undergone a $241 million expansion which has doubled the centre’s capacity with 348 new cells and 130 extra full-time jobs.

The Capricornia Correctional Centre now has a capacity of 750 cells and 957 beds and in June 2021, it held more than 680 inmates.

The Rockhampton prison is headed by Chief Superintendent Richard Butcher, who was commenced as general manager at the centre in March 2021.

Mr Butcher began his career with the United Kingdom prison service where he worked through various roles over 24 years.

His Australian corrections career began in 2011 in Western Australian and he was appointed as general manager at Lotus Glen Correctional Centre in Far North Queensland in 2019.