Almost no prison officer vacancies at Greenough Regional Prison four years on from riot

There are currently almost no prison officer vacancies at Greenough Regional Prison, despite the industry’s union claiming staffing shortages were wreaking havoc on WA’s correctional facilities. It comes in the wake of the publication of a report assessing the effectiveness of policy reviews, infrastructure repairs and other measures implemented after the July 2018 riot at the prison. The incident led to the escape of 10 inmates and caused significant damage to the facility. Almost $19 million went into remediation and infrastructure works to reinforce the facility, including improvements to internal and external barriers, system upgrades and the development of a new stand-alone women’s precinct. Staffing shortages were identified as a contributing factor to the riot, but the Department of Justice would not reveal the specific number of prison officers on the books in July 2018 compared to now. But a department spokesperson said the Greenough facility’s complement of prison officers was currently 92 per cent full. The site is now at 77 per cent of its prisoner population capacity. Inspector of Custodial Services Eamon Ryan noted changes the Department had made in his report overview, but said some staff have complained of “residual unease and unresolved trauma” over working at the prison in the wake of the riot. “The information we found suggested that Greenough still had, to some extent, a traumatised workforce,” he said. “There were well-entrenched negative views and cynicism among some staff, some of whom may never be happy, but we felt there were genuine opportunities to improve these relationships and better capitalise on the progress that has been made to date.” Concerns were again raised about staff absences leading to reduced services for prisoners, but Mr Ryan said there were few custodial absences identified during the inspection. But WA Prison Officers’ Union secretary Andy Smith maintained staffing shortages were putting increasing pressure on prisons across WA. “Part of the cause of the riot in Greenough prison was the lack of staff and the ability to provide all the services the prisoners are legally entitled to. The Department (of Justice) have done little or nothing to fix that problem and in fact, it has actually got considerably worse,” he said. Mr Ryan said little mental health support was available to prison staff and he worried conditions could lead to another riot.