Corruption risks inside Victorian jails laid bare in new report

Jail guards have been exposed taking bribes, assaulting inmates and hiding body worn cameras at Victoria’s jails, a new report says.

Victorian prison officers have been caught taking bribes, misusing force, assaulting inmates and interrupting body worn cameras, according to a new report.

The corruption watchdog has found the state’s private and publicly run jails, which hold more than 7000 inmates, face continuing corruption and misconduct risks.

The Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) special report on corrections, tabled in parliament on Tuesday, recommends corrections officers be legally obliged to report suspected corrupt conduct in order to stamp out wrongdoing across the jail system.

IBAC focused on four investigations it completed into incidents of officers using excessive force, doing inappropriate strip searches, misusing information, forming inappropriate relationships and trafficking illegal and banned goods.

In one investigation, corrections officers were found to have misused force against two prisoners, one of whom had an intellectual disability.

The commission also found the strip search of a male prisoner took too long and was done in the presence of a female officer, contrary to policy.

IBAC also found instances of apparent deliberate interruption of body worn camera recordings during incidents where force was used, including by covering the lens and coughing.

Another probe into assault allegations by Port Phillip Prison officers against three prisoners was substantiated in two of the cases, although there was not enough evidence to prosecute.

Other incidents highlighted included a Loddon Prison precinct welfare officer who arranged for contraband to be trafficked into the jail and unlawfully received bribes from prisoners’ family members.

The welfare officer was jailed for 15 months, reduced to 13 months on appeal.

Another corrections officer at Dhurringile Prison introduced contraband in exchange for payments from prisoners’ families and had inappropriate relationships with inmates and their associates.

The officer was jailed for six months with a 12 month corrections order.

IBAC Commissioner Robert Redlich said the incidents highlighted in the report were not isolated and there was a pressing need to address the problematic culture.

“Preventing corruption is essential to achieving the aim of rehabilitating offenders and keeping Victoria safe,” he said.

“Where corrections staff fail to act with integrity by smuggling contraband, misusing information, covering up wrongdoing or failing to uphold human rights, these aims are compromised.

“I acknowledge the Department and Corrections Victoria have, and are continuing to, take actions to reduce a number of the corruption risks identified, however there is a critical need for further action.”

Commissioner Redlich said the justice department and Corrections Victoria had significant work to do to ensure corrections workers both understood the importance of reporting suspected wrongdoing and felt safe and supported in doing so.

[e-mail]