HIV, hepatitis and flu have helped jails and police plan for worst of coronavirus

Law enforcement agencies around the country are bracing for the impact of coronavirus.

NSW Corrections Commissioner Peter Severin said his staff were getting daily briefings from health officials on how to contain the virus should it enter the prison system. Picture: Richard Dobson

The nation’s law-enforcement agencies are bracing for the impact of coronavirus, with prisons banning all inmate visits by people who have been to affected countries and the Australian Federa­l Police planning for potentially major reductions in the number of officers it can throw at investigations. With the COVID-19 crisis worsening by the day, police and prisons are activating contingency plans to deal with flow-on effects.

Corrections NSW is preparing to activate a pandemic plan developed in the wake of the SARS virus but kept on ice since.

It has already banned inmate visits from people who recently travelled from countries hit hard by coronavirus. Anyone who has been to China, Japan and Iran within 14 days is prohibited from entering a prison.

NSW Corrections Commissioner Peter Severin said his staff were getting daily briefings from health officials on how to contain the virus should it enter the prison system, which, like a cruise ship, is a confined environ­ment where disease spreads rapidly.

Mr Severin said despite the risks, prisons were relatively well placed to handle pandemics as staff had dealt with the risk posed by other infectious diseases, such as HIV and hepatitis, for years.

“We do have a pandemic plan in place that we can activate as required­,’’ he told The Australian. “I’m confident we’ve got solid arrangeme­nts in place but, that said, we’re not underestimating any issue that may arise.’’

Victoria Police is preparing to isolate sick prisoners in police watch houses in that state, and to maintain public order in the event of a mass breakout.

“We have our internal influenza and pandemic planning committee,’’ Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Shane Patton told The Australian. “That covers things like giving instructions to our members on how to react to people with coronavirus, as well as us forecasting and modelling how we’d cope with loss of staff.’’

Despite the planning, the virus is largely uncharted territory for police, who are still clarifying what powers are available to them to detain­ or control the movements of infected members of the public.

Deputy Commissioner Neil Gaughan said the AFP had also been planning how it might cope in the event that large numbers of police were forced into quarantine or off work.

“If a large proportion of the workforce goes off sick, what do we prioritise?” he said.

“We’re doing some modelling on 10, 20 and 40 per cent of our workforce, which is consistent with other agencies.’’

He said if the AFP did have to prioritise investigations, the focus would be on jobs directly affecting­ public safety, such as counter-­terrorism and aviation security.