Leigh Marsh: Custodial Services Commissioner on the increase in prison assaults

Corrections says a steep increase in prison assaults is due to better reporting of incidents. 

New data shows there were more than 2600 assaults in the last financial year.  

It includes more than 1500 prisoner-on-prisoner assaults, and more than 1000 on staff.  

Custodial Services Commissioner Leigh Marsh told Mike Hosking they've been working hard to improve how they deal with these incidents. 

He says the encouragement of reporting assaults has seen an increase in the number of non-injury assaults being reported, which where the biggest number lies. 

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
New stats this morning shows what an ugly placed prison
can be. We've got one thousand and eighty prisoner on
staff assaults in the past year. Is that a lot, Yes,
it is. It's more it's almost double what it was
in twenty seventeen. Twenty eighteen, that was the last time
the prison population was about where it is now. Lee
Marsh's the Corrections Custodial Services Commissioner and is with us.
Lee morning, Good morning, Marte. So you've got prisoner on
prisoner and prisoner on staff. I'm assuming you're more worried

(00:21):
about prisoner on staff. Is that what's materially changed if
you've got the same sort of population, what's materially changed
in terms of the violence.

Speaker 2 (00:30):
Well, the population has changed incredibly over the last few years.
So whilst our overall net population is similar to what
it was in kind of twenty eight twenty nineteen, what
we're seeing is increasing gang membership and complexity of gang membership.
We're seeing a little more violence coming in off the
streets into our prisons. We're seeing the effects of meth
use within our communities and that sort of coming into

(00:52):
our prison.

Speaker 1 (00:52):
Environment must be a hell of a job.

Speaker 2 (00:56):
Well, I'll tell you what. Our officers are absolutely incredible.
They're dearly with the people that our courts say should
not be in the community, and they get up of
every day, come to work, and they deal with those
people in our prisons, trying to effect change to make
sure they get outsafe, and they do an absolutely incredible job.

Speaker 1 (01:11):
All that stuff we've talked about before, body cameras and stuff.
Has any of that helped materially?

Speaker 2 (01:17):
I think it as I truly believe it has. If
we look at the assault stats, there's a little bit
in the numbers there. So while the net numbers has increased,
we've done an incredible amount of work alongside our union
partners to improve not only the safety equipment, but the reporting.
We want to send a clear message that any violence
against our staff is not tolerated, and so this encouragement
of reporting has seen a significant increase in the reporting

(01:41):
of non injury assaults, and that's where the biggest number lies.
So our serious assaults have actually gone down good. We're
actually seeing a reduction in the use of things like weapons.
We are seeing an increase in prison on prisoner kind
of pack assaults and that's gang related really, but the
majority of this increase, In fact, the bulk of this
increase that's caused the net but to go up is
actually non injury assaults, and they're basically a bit of

(02:03):
a push or a shover, or a cup of water
being thrown or an apple being thrown at you, that
sort of.

Speaker 1 (02:07):
Thing, right, And does it affect recruiting?

Speaker 2 (02:10):
Our recruiting has gone incredibly well. We've still got cues
of people wanting to come and join us. We offer
a fantastic career, a very rewarding career. Our turnover is
over halved in the last couple of years, and I
think we've had well in excess of one hundred and
thirty thousand applications since our latest campaign launched in twenty
twenty four.

Speaker 1 (02:27):
Good good stuff, Lee Nisens, Lee Marsh see not all
bad news corrections. Custodial Services Commissioner with us this morning.

Speaker 2 (02:33):
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