Prison officer from Victoria’s Port Phillip Prison reveals culture and alleged disregard for inmate safety

A prison officer from Victoria’s Port Phillip prison has revealed the jail’s toxic culture and alleged disregard for inmate safety.

A prison officer from Victoria’s Port Phillip prison has blown the whistle on the jail’s toxic culture and alleged disregard for inmate safety after his heroic actions to save an Indigenous inmate from a blazing cell fire ultimately led to him being fired.

The former officer has been left traumatised by the bullying he alleges occurred in the aftermath of the incident, in which senior members of staff publicly shamed him for his actions. Criticism surrounded the officer’s decision to rescue the inmate without first attaining a breathing apparatus.

Security company G4S, which runs privately-owned Port Phillip prison, has adamantly denied a senior staff member then told the officer: “You should have just let the c*** die” during a debrief meeting attended by approximately 30 staff members.

However, in emails obtained by News Corp Australia, an HR representative from Port Phillip Prison included the offensive phrase within a document that she refers to as “agreed meeting notes”.

The contents of these notes, which both the officer and the prison representative “agreed” were accurate, pertained to an HR meeting held with the officer to discuss the fire. The meeting heard that when the officer was asked during the debrief what he “could have done better”, he said: “I did the wrong thing but needed to get the prisoner out or he would have died.”

“The officer then stated that [name redacted] a supervisor commented, ‘you should have just let the c**t die’.

A prison officer from Victoria's Port Phillip prison has blown the whistle on the jail's toxic culture.

The meeting notes then read: “When queried further about why [name redacted] the supervisor would make such a comment it was discussed whether it could have been from poor humour or sarcasm and [name redacted] the supervisor’s way of coping. This was a possibility but was still inappropriate in the officer’s [name redacted] opinion.”

When asked to respond to the allegations, a spokesperson from G4S said: “G4S’s first priority is the safety of employees and the people in our care; to suggest otherwise is not true. Following any significant incident, a detailed review is routinely undertaken. The purpose of these reviews is to ensure that all necessary protocols and procedures have been followed and lesson learnt can be implemented.”

On October 3, 2019, the now terminated officer arrived for his morning shift when a “code red” fire alert was raised in the “management unit” – an area designated for high-risk prisoners.

“There’s this great big flashing light that goes off,” recalled the officer, who immediately attended the affected cell.

“When I looked through the flap [a mailbox-type slot in the door used for observation] I saw a substantial amount of smoke and flame … the flames would have been from the floor of the cell to the ceiling.”

The officer, who has worked as a fire safety trainer with the Country Fire Service for approximately six years, assessed there was just a few minutes in which to get the prisoner out alive.

Fire crews at Port Phillip Prison after a fire erupted in an inmate’s cell. Picture: Nicole Garmston

“I could hear him banging on the door. He was yelling, ‘Get me the f*** out of here!”

In the “agreed meeting notes” the officer alleges he attempted to access the fire hose next to the cell but discovered the key he had been issued did not work. The agreed meeting notes also state that “it was observed on CCTV” that when another group of staff attempted to use the hose to suppress the fire, it was faulty.

“I’ve gone back then and checked on the bloke and he’s got his head in the toilet with a towel over his head, reason being he’s trying to breathe fresh air. I then drop the trap. He’s stuck his head through and gone, ‘get me the f*** out’ and taken a deep breath because the cell was filling up with smoke.”

The officer tried one further time to access the fire hose, before turning to see the prisoner’s hands through the trapdoor, giving a double thumbs up.

“That is the universal sign of ‘I surrender. I am compliant’.”

With the help of a colleague, the officer handcuffed the prisoner and removed him from the burning cell.

Listen to our exclusive On Guard prison podcast series below:

While the fired officer was treated for superficial physical injuries, he says he has suffered lasting psychological injuries after being heavily criticised and ostracised by fellow staff for his actions.

After being medically advised to take extended leave, the officer was then informed he had been terminated. “If the bullying and harassment wasn’t such a part of the culture at Port Phillip Prison I’d still be doing a job I love. Instead, I have been discarded like a dirty tissue,” the officer said.

A spokesperson from G4S said: “In regards to individual Work Cover cases, G4S will not discuss individual claims that are underway.”

At the prison’s most recent government safety inspection in January the prison was informed it had “failed to maintain systems of work that are, so far as I reasonably practicable, safe and without risks to health in relation to incident investigation.”