A South Australian prisoner has been hospitalized after an alleged prisoner-on-prisoner assault at Yatala Labour Prison. The incident, which reportedly involved drugs, is the second violent attack within two weeks and raises serious questions about the safety conditions inside the state’s correctional facilities.
Craig Bates, the vice-president of the Public Service Association (PSA), noticed something frightening. Assaults occurring between inmates. He testified that nine prisoners coordinated an attack on one inmate. That quickly became a matter of life and death. As the victim passed out, responding officers had to step in and physically subdue the attacker before he stopped beating the victim. Bates painted a vivid and chaotic scene, pointing to the difficulties and dangers correctional officers are currently confronting.
“He was unconscious and officers had to basically physically remove the prisoners off of him,” – Craig Bates
Recent Assaults Raise Alarm
The assault at Yatala Labour Prison is similar to an attack earlier this month at Adelaide Women’s Prison. Last weekend, one officer and an inmate were hospitalized after violence erupted in a contentious clash. These extreme acts of violence in succession highlight the very real threats to the safety of inmates and the management of our prisons.
Bates’s call drew attention to the crippling staff reductions that have plagued the state’s prison system. These cuts have aggravated issues with supervision and security. He pointed out that cuts in correctional officers have led to an increase in contraband. Because of this, drug-related deaths and overdoses inside the facilities have skyrocketed as well.
“Since the reduction of correctional officers, there’s a lot less supervision, which leads to a lot more contraband and drugs there,” – Craig Bates
Union Calls for Action Amid Bargaining Negotiations
The PSA is now in enterprise bargaining negotiations with the South Australian government. The union understands these episodes to be essential inflection points. The senators highlight the critical need to improve in-prison safety and more effectively support correctional professionals on the front lines.
Bates blasted the government’s approach to staffing shortages. He said, “In spite of repeated pleas for help, they’ve taken little action to remedy the damage caused by years of cuts from past governors.” He said a lack of management and staffing leads to an unsafe environment for correctional officers and inmates. That lack of readiness puts the American public at risk.
“Unfortunately, the Labor government also hasn’t rectified any of those staff cuts at this point in time,” – Craig Bates
Government Acknowledges Wage Concerns
Against all these darkening clouds, there was an unexpected silver lining, reported by South Australian Attorney-General Kyam Maher. He noted that South Australian correctional officers’ starting salaries of only $58,000 were some of the worst in Australia. He claimed that the government is serious about negotiating directly and in good faith with the PSA on wage increases.
Maher conceded he didn’t have information on the latest attack at Yatala Labour Prison. He promised that’s because investigators look deeply into every event that occurs in our nation’s prison system.
“But I do know that when there are incidents that occur in our prison system, they are properly and thoroughly investigated, and people are held to account for what they do,” – Attorney-General Kyam Maher
