Officers assaulted at Brisbane Correctional Centre
Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) can confirm two Custodial Correctional Officers were treated at hospital for possible exposure to bodily fluids following an incident at Brisbane Correctional Centre on Sunday afternoon.
Two officers were attempting to assist a prisoner who was self-harming when he threw a cup of unidentified liquid at them and it hit their torsos and faces.
The prisoner was restrained and remains in the Detention Unit.
The officers were treated at the centre, and later received treatment at the hospital as a precaution.
The two female officers, are continuing to receive treatment and testing and are being supported by management.
The matter will be referred to the Corrective Services Intelligence Unit (CSIU), and the prisoner may face additional criminal charges and further prison time. He may also be subject to internal disciplinary processes, including loss of privileges and potential placement in a Maximum Security Unit as a result of the incident.
Unfortunately from time to time our officers are required to put themselves in harm’s way 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.
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.
When an officer is injured on duty, QCS is committed to supporting the officer and their family while they recover.