Officer inured, Borallon Training and Correctional Centre

Two custodial correctional officers has been taken to hospital after restraining a prisoner at Borallon Training and Correctional Centre yesterday.

At 4.15pm, officers in a secure unit were forced to restrain a prisoner who was non-compliant and lashing out violently.

The prisoner was restrained and taken to the Detention Unit.

Once officer was bitten on the hand and has injuries to his leg and foot and the other officer has injuries to his wrist and leg.

They were both taken to the medical centre for assessment and were then taken to hospital for further treatment.

Management and senior officers are continuing to support the officer, their family and their colleagues.

New legislation passed by Parliament in July increased the maximum penalty for serious assault on a corrective services officer with aggravating circumstances in line with assaulting a police officer and other front-line service officers.

Aggravating circumstances include biting, spitting and throwing bodily materials and causing bodily harm and the offence now carries a maximum penalty of 14 years.

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.

Queensland Corrective Services is a frontline public safety agency and our officers interact with the most challenging and complex people in our society to ensure the safety and security of the community.

We are thankful for their commitment, and for the important role they play in making Queensland safer for all of us.

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.

When an officer is injured on duty, QCS is committed to supporting the officer and their family while they recover.