Prison bash figures wrong

MORE prison officers have been bashed by inmates than the State Government revealed at Budget Estimates.

Acting Corrections Minister Guy Barnett has been forced to correct the official record after the Mercury queried evidence given before both houses of Parliament earlier this month.

Justice Department officials told Budget Estimates on two separate occasions that only one correctional officer was assaulted between last July and March this year. The Government has since confirmed there were four assaults.

Prison officers were furious at the oversight, while Community and Public Sector Union boss Tom Lynch said he nearly fell off his chair at the mention of just one assault.

“I am aware of many assaults on officers by inmates that have caused physical injuries that require medical attention,” he said.

“I was absolutely certain it was incorrect to say there had been only one assault at Risdon in that period.”

The Tasmania Prison Service said at the time of Estimates the system recorded only one assault causing physical injury during the period. A “subsequent review” indicated there had been four assaults.

“This compares with 18 as- saults for the same period last year. As advised during Estimates, there were no assaults requiring overnight hospitalisation,” a spokesman said.

But Mr Lynch said the figure should be higher still and there was some confusion over how assaults were being categorised.

“I know of an inmate who bit an officer during this period and that was reported to the police as an assault,” he said.

“I know of an inmate who had used urine and faeces and blood to assault officers on multiple occasions during that period.”

He said one officer was having surgery on their nose because of an assault.

Mr Lynch said correctional officers were upset because the Estimates figures came on the back of an assault on guards with bodily fluids.

“Then you have the message coming out assaults are down and what a fantastic job the prison’s doing to deal with this,” he said.

Mr Barnett has written to committee members to update the record.