Alleged officer assault – Wolston

Queensland Corrective Services can confirm that an officer was subject to an alleged assault at Wolston Correctional Centre this morning.

It will be alleged  that the officer was conducting a muster of prisoners when a 49-year-old man touched him inappropriately.

The officer, who was uninjured, immediately challenged the prisoner.

After a review of CCTV and other evidence, the incident was categorised as assault. The officer was offered  EAP support. The prisoner was placed on a safety order restricting him to his cell.

The matter has been referred to CSIU for investigation.

Prisoners who assault officers may face additional criminal charges and further prison time. They are also subject to internal disciplinary processes, including loss of privileges.

Every day our officers interact with the most challenging and complex people in our society.

Officer safety is Queensland Corrective Services’ absolute priority. Every officer deserves to go home safely at the end of shift.

We take our responsibility as an employer to support our officers through appropriate training and provision of equipment, technology, and policy support very seriously, but recognise that we cannot remove all risk from the workplace due to the dynamic nature of correctional environments.

People who have been removed from society for violent or anti-social behaviour sometimes display that same behaviour in a prison environment, despite the best efforts of our officers to de-escalate situations.

QCS is committed to supporting our officers.