Corrections officer Natasha Beneke details Yatala Labor Prison inmate attack
It was a normal day at work in a troubled South Australian jail when a prisoner lunged at veteran corrections officer Natasha Beneke leaving her with lasting injuries.
Natasha Beneke has been left with scars after a prisoner in the midst of drug psychosis smashed her into a wall and repeatedly kicked her at Adelaide’s troubled Yatala Labor Prison earlier this year.
Now, the corrections officer joins hundreds of others who are calling for change.
When Ms Beneke and another officer attempted to restrain an inmate experiencing a mental health episode on February 9, they became “agitated and unpredictable”.
“As we were (attempting to restrain him), the prisoner suddenly smashed us into a wall and I fell to the floor … so during that I hurt my shoulder and then my elbow,” she said.
The Northfield prison response team rushed in, forcing the prisoner to stand while Ms Beneke explained to him what would happen next.
“I was the supervisor of the area and it was my responsibility to explain to the prisoner what actions were going to take place,” she said.
“As I was informing him he suddenly lunged towards me again and kicked me three times on my right leg.
“It caused scarring below my right knee and I still have issues with my left shoulder. I also get pins and needles in both my hands.”
Ms Beneke, who is still working in the system after almost 23 years, detailed the traumatic incident to highlight the frightening reality of working as a correction officer in South Australia.
She was among officers calling for better pay and better work conditions at Wednesday’s snap rally – organised by the Public Service Association (PSA) – in front of treasurer Tom Koutsantonis’s electorate office at Torrensville.
The PSA general secretary Charlotte Watson has condemned the spate of brutal assaults occurring within the state prisons, which have pushed the system to a “breaking point”.
“When prisons are chronically understaffed, officers exhausted, and morale collapsing, violence becomes inevitable,” she said.
“Our members are paying the price for government neglect.
“In just over a fortnight we’ve seen three vicious assaults.
“One at Adelaide Women’s Prison that left a Correctional Officer in hospital, a mass attack at Yatala on Sunday, and yesterday another bloody incident at the same prison.”
South Australian corrections officers are the lowest paid in the country and Ms Watson said they were “putting their life on the line” for $58,000 a year.
A government spokeswoman said they were committed to “good faith negotiations” with PSA to achieve a new enterprise agreement for workers in the South Australian public sector, including prison guards.
“The government has made clear it is committed to providing a real wage increase above the current rate of inflation, and that is reflected in the government’s most recent offer to the PSA.”
Labor Minister Tom Koutsantonis said inmates who assault correction officers would be “punished for behaving badly”.
“Our prison officers are the best in the country,” he said.
“These things happen in prisons. That’s why we have prisons to take people who are dangerous off our streets... so they can’t hurt innocent members of the public.
“Our corrections officers are trained to deal with this and they will respond.”
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Originally published as Corrections officer Natasha Beneke details Yatala Labor Prison inmate attack
