Darwin Corrections officer allegedly loses eye after being attacked by prisoner

A worker has reportedly lost his eye following a prison assault, as his fellow Corrections officers voice their fears amid rising rates of violence behind the wire.

NT Police have confirmed that a Corrections officer was allegedly assaulted by a prisoner with a “blunt instrument” just before 2pm on Tuesday, May 6.

A Corrections officer has reportedly lost his eye after allegedly being attacked in Darwin Correctional Centre, as fellow workers warn of increasing violence behind the wire at the Territory’s prisons.

NT Police have confirmed a Corrections officer was allegedly assaulted by a prisoner with a “blunt instrument” just before 2pm on Tuesday, May 6.

“The officer received a serious injury to his eye and is currently receiving treatment at Royal Darwin Hospital,” a spokesman said.

The worker’s colleagues have alleged as a result of the attack, he has permanently lost the use of his eye.

Many of his Corrections colleagues have voiced their anger over the latest “horrific” injury, saying their warnings about declining safety within the prisons have been ignored. Picture: Jason Walls

A Darwin corrections worker told the NT News the incident was sparked when the worker told a prisoner he would have to move to another section of the jail.

“That prisoner took exception to being instructed to be housed in another area, and from there, has attacked a Correctional officer,” they said.

The Corrections Department spokeswoman confirmed NT Police and NT WorkSafe were investigating the incident.

“Assaults on our staff performing their duties is completely unacceptable, and staff safety and wellbeing remains our top priority,” she said.

“We are providing support to the staff member and their family during this time.”

Many of his Corrections colleagues have voiced their anger over the latest “horrific” injury, saying their warnings about declining safety within the prisons have been ignored.

Workers have alleged that given the overwhelming prisoner numbers, people were being kept in areas that were “not fit for purpose”, with the latest alleged assault reportedly occurring in an area used to house “overflow prisoners” during the day.

“It’s not a storage area for prisoners, it’s not an accommodation block,” a Darwin officer said.

“(This is) a reflection of overcrowding, a reflection that they’re just racking and stacking prisoners.”

As of Thursday there were 2835 people being held in Territory cells, with 1437 held in Darwin Correctional Centre — 389 people more than its original design capacity.

Alice Springs Correctional Centre — which was designed to hold 500 — was detaining 816 people.

Multiple officers said they believed the levels of violence inside the prisons were on the rise, putting their lives and the safety of the Territorians in their care in jeopardy.

One Alice Springs officer said the centre had experienced “some horrific” incidents, while a Darwin worker said: “It’s horrendous what’s going on”.

The Corrections department has confirmed there has been 212 recorded assaults in Territory prisons to date this financial year — an average of five a week.

A spokeswoman said since July 1 there had been 27 recorded assaults on officers, four of which were considered serious as they required overnight hospitalisation or on-going medical treatment.

Over that same 10 month period, there were 185 prisoner-on-prisoner assaults, 13 of which were classed as serious.

Originally published as Darwin Corrections officer allegedly loses eye after being attacked by prisoner