Violence in Prisons

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK (15:16): I seek leave to make a brief explanation before directing questions to the Minister for Correctional Services regarding violence in prisons.

Leave granted.

The Hon. J.M.A. LENSINK: New data has revealed that violent attacks within South Australian prisons have more than doubled in the past financial year, reaching record levels. A total of 481 inmates and correctional officers were allegedly assaulted in 2023-24, which is an increase from 239 in 2022-23 and 143 in 2021-22. The number of serious assaults against prisoners has also doubled, with correctional officers experiencing a sharp rise in violent attacks. My questions to the minister are:

1. What specific measures is the government implementing to address violence within South Australian prisons?

2. With serious assaults against correctional officers at a record high, what additional protections or resources will be provided to frontline staff?

3. Does the government acknowledge that its current prison management strategies need to be changed to control rising violence?

4. Given the significant rise in violence, does the government intend to conduct an independent review into prison conditions and safety protocols?

The Hon. E.S. BOURKE (Minister for Emergency Services and Correctional Services, Minister for Autism, Minister for Recreation, Sport and Racing) (15:17): I thank the honourable member for her question. The government takes these matters incredibly seriously, as I am sure all members in this chamber do. All forms of assault against a prison officer, no matter how minor, are unacceptable.

I am advised that people who assault prison officers can face up to 15 years' imprisonment, and the same penalty exists for attacking an emergency services worker. I have been advised that one offender has received an additional custodial sentence of more than seven years. Just because you are already in prison it doesn't mean that bad behaviour will go without punishment.

The Malinauskas Labor government has invested heavily in our prisons to help keep our community and our correctional workforce safe. Over $220 million in the last state budget was made available to increase prison capacity. More searches are being carried out and contraband seized before it enters our prison system, under tough new measures and upgraded security.

The 17 per cent rise in searches last financial year and the record amount of contraband uncovered follows increased efforts to prevent the introduction of items that may pose a safety risk, including weapons and drugs. More than 103,000 searches were conducted in 2023 and 2024, resulting in 1,500 contraband discoveries. Compare this to 88,000 searches in 2022-23 and over 900 prohibited items seized.

Recently, we have seen upgrades in digital security systems. These have been placed in Yatala and, in my understanding, also in the Adelaide Remand Centre, Mount Gambier, Mobilong and Port Augusta. These state-of-the-art CCTV cameras help to improve the overall security and operation of our prisons. I am also advised that Yatala and the AWP body-scanning machines are also proving effective in keeping our contraband out.

As you have pointed out, over the past five years I am advised that the total number of assaults against correctional officers and prisoners in the Adelaide Remand Centre has doubled. What happened in 2019? We saw the privatisation of the Adelaide Remand Centre. Whilst this is now privatised, the workforce there are working incredibly hard, with also those new services made available to them that I just outlined. The Adelaide Yatala Labour Prison saw 20 assaults and the Adelaide Remand Centre saw 12 assaults, comprising mostly minor assaults that did not need serious medical treatment.

We are taking this seriously. As you are aware, those numbers were made available and we are looking forward to working with Corrections to ensure that we can see what we can best put into place, and also with the appropriate union.