Almost 200 drug seizures in SA prisons as assaults on prison officers increase

Prison officers are being increasingly assaulted and inmates are more aggressive, with an influx of drugs being blamed for the sudden jump in violence.

An influx of illicit drugs into South Australian prisons is causing increased prisoner aggression and assaults on guards, the prison officers union says, sparking safety concerns and calls for government action.

The Public Service Association, which represents South Australian correctional officers, says more drugs are being smuggled into SA jails because fewer prisoners and visitors are being searched as a result of understaffing.

In the past financial year, prison officers seized drugs 188 times in jails across the state in targeted operations to uncover contraband.

PSA general secretary Natasha Brown more needed to be done to stop the drugs entering prisons.

“Prisoners are finding creative and innovative ways of getting contraband items into prisons and the (Correctional Services) Department needs to keep ahead of this to ensure the safety of correctional officers and prisoners,” Ms Brown said.

An influx of drugs is Picture: AAP/Emma Brasier

“Having contraband in prisons including drugs, weapons and illegal communications devices such as mobile phones makes the already difficult job of managing prisons much harder.”

Ms Brown said as a result, there had been a “significant spike” in assaults on prison officers over the past 12 months, including eight at Yatala Labour Prison between June and October this year.

“The lack of appropriate staffing in our prisons is a major contributing factor to the safety and security problems,” she said.

The number of assaults on prison officers in the past year has increased, with 27 in 2022 and 28 so far in 2023, a Correctional Services Department spokeswoman said.

Correctional Services Minister Joe Szakacs said assaults on prison officers were “unacceptable and are taken very seriously”.

“All incidents are reviewed to ensure that learning opportunities are identified to improve practices and staff safety in the future.”

The union’s concerns come after several prison officers at Yatala Labour Prison were spat on during an incident on Wednesday afternoon.

A Correctional Services Department spokeswoman said the officers involved were taken to hospital for medical assessment, while the prisoner was restrained and taken to the jail’s notorious high-security G Division.

A police spokeswoman said the incident was under investigation but no charges had been laid on Friday afternoon.

Mr Szakacs said prisoner drug testing had increased by 18 per cent in 2023, with 4000 tests undertaken so far.

It is not known how many of those returned positive results.

“The illicit introduction of contraband is a constant threat, and diligently monitored and prevented by the Department for Correctional Services using traditional and covert means,” Mr Szakacs said.

Prison officers seized illicit drugs 188 times in South Australian prisons last financial year. Picture: SA Police

Ms Brown said prison officers were required to work overtime to undertake the majority of that testing.

“The department’s figures don’t tell the whole story,” she said.

“Overtime staffing is required to undertake drug testing in prisons, meaning that while testing may occur, analysis of those tests often doesn’t follow and the test samples have to be discarded.

“Similarly, our members also report frequently requesting that prisoners, who appear to be affected by drugs, be tested.

“Again, this often doesn’t occur due to inadequate staffing levels.”

Mr Szakacs said drug detection dogs were being used more than ever before to screen visitors at prisons.

Correctional Services Minister Joe Szakacs said assaults on prison officers were “unacceptable and are taken very seriously”. Picture: Emma Brasier

A Correctional Services Department spokeswoman said “a range of detection systems in order to frustrate attempts to introduce contraband into our correctional centres” were used.

However, she said the specific measures could not be disclosed “for security reasons”.

Ms Brown is calling on the state government to reinstate critical security roles that were abolished under a former Liberal government policy.

“The (Correctional Services) Department needs to ensure critical security positions, which were abolished under previous cost-saving measures, are reinstated to reduce the risk of assaults on our members and also the incidence of prisoner-on-prisoner attacks,” she said.

Mr Szakacs said the government had recruited 237 additional frontline prison staff, most of which have been deployed at the state’s high-security jails, including Yatala and Port Augusta Prison.

“Our government remains committed to no future cuts to frontline correctional staff,” he said.

Originally published as Almost 200 drug seizures in SA prisons as assaults on prison officers increase