Officers bunker down at prisons to ensure security

While many people in SEQ were bunkering down at home during this weekend, more than 200 Queensland Corrective Services officers were bunkering down at correctional centres and monitoring units across South East Queensland to maintain safety and security.

QCS Commissioner Paul Stewart APM said that he was incredibly proud of the officers who spent the weekend away from their families to ensure the safe operation of prisons across SEQ.

 

“We know that Woodford, Southern Queensland, Palen Creek and Numinbah correctional centres are often cut off by local flooding, and pre-emptively position officers at these centres to ensure continuity of operations.

“Officers from as far away as Lotus Glen in Far North Queensland, Townsville and Maryborough joined their local colleagues in working through ex-TC Alfred to keep the centres running. They were joined by new officers who are in training to work at Lockyer Valley Correctional Centre when it is commissioned later this year,” Commissioner Stewart said.

“Some officers worked 24-hour shifts, while others slept on the floors of centres since Thursday to ensure prisoners received food and medication, and where possible were unlocked to call family and friends and get some exercise.

 

“Keeping corrections operational during a natural disaster requires all hands on deck, and the hard work and commitment of QCS officers shone through in the past days, and it wasn’t just officers working in prisons who had to overcome the weather to keep the community safe.”

Officers at the 24-7 High Risk Offender Management Unit and Electronic Monitoring Unit did exceptional work to make sure that offenders in the community were supervised closely throughout the event, with the highest risk offenders being closely monitored at all times.

“I’d like to thank the General Managers and Deputy General Managers of our centres for leading by example and staying at their centres over the weekend, and the dedicated teams of frontline officers who excelled during the challenging conditions, supported by the QCS Incident Coordination Centre and officers from across all areas of QCS,” Commissioner Stewart said.