Watchdog finds misconduct, corruption among Corrections Victoria staff on the rise

Victoria’s prison system is at risk of ongoing corruption and misconduct, with evidence showing some prison guards have formed romantic relationships with prisoners, used excessive force against them and smuggled contraband, the state’s anti-corruption watchdog has found.

The Independent Broad-Based Anti-Corruption Commission (IBAC) report found Corrections Victoria staff had also conducted inappropriate strip searches, used illicit drugs, accessed private information through internal databases, and tampered with body-camera evidence.

The report found the risk of bad behaviour was increasing as prisoner and staff numbers rose.

IBAC commissioner Robert Redlich QC said the responsible government departments needed to act.

“The Department of Justice and Community Safety and Corrections Victoria have taken a number of steps to address some of the corruption risks that have been identified over time within the prison system,” Mr Redlich said.

“But the matters identified in this special report call for critical further action. These are problems that are longstanding.”

Recent increase in assaults of prisoners

The report, which examined four previous IBAC investigations, found the workplace culture in prisons needed to be improved, noting instances where serious misconduct had been covered up and reporting to IBAC had been delayed.

“One of the most important and challenging issues which must be addressed is the culture within corrections staff in both public and private prisons that misconduct is not to be reported and where it occurs it is to be concealed,” Mr Redlich said. 

The report found more prison officers were being accused of assaulting prisoners in recent years, with 63 complaints to IBAC in 2019 and 101 in 2020, and there was a culture of excessive use of force among some officers.

In one incident at Port Philip Prison in 2017, IBAC determined a prisoner was subjected to a seven-minute strip search in view of a female officer, against policy, and they were kicked in the head and stood on by officers.

In another incident at the same prison, a prisoner with an intellectual disability assaulted a prison guard. Another officer later grabbed the prisoner’s head, pushed it down and delivered up to four knee strikes to the prisoner’s torso.

In both incidents, IBAC found officers intentionally interfered with body-worn-camera footage, by either not turning on the cameras, coughing during moments of violence, or running a commentary that was inconsistent with what was actually happening and was meant to mislead future viewers.

It found alleged assaults often took place in CCTV camera blind spots, and in one instance a camera was directed to face another direction while a prisoner was struck.

Andreea Lachsz from the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service said the report showed legislation was needed that raised the bar for strip searching, and stop it from being used as a form of power over prisoners. 

“As someone who gave evidence in the Northern Territory Don Dale royal commission, these findings are all too familiar,” she said.

“Until we have those legal protections in place, we’re likely to see these sorts of abuses continue.”

Goverment announces independent review of prison system

Two other IBAC investigations found two prison officers, at separate prisons, took money in exchange for smuggling in tobacco products and engaged in inappropriate relationships with prisoners and their family members. 

One of those officers engaged in an intimate relationship with a prisoner.

Another investigation in 2018 found a property officer at the Melbourne Assessment Prison misused corrections databases, and looked up the details of prisoners she and her partner had associations with.

Last week, the government announced an independent review into the culture of Victoria’s prison system, which was welcomed by Mr Redlich.

Minister for Corrections Natalie Hutchins said the review would build on “significant work” over the past two years to strengthen capability across the prison system.

“We know that the majority of our corrections staff conduct their duties with high professionalism as they work to help rehabilitate offenders and keep our community safe,” Ms Hutchins said.

“It’s essential we remain vigilant to the risks and continue to improve systems and training, and continue to hold our staff up to the highest standards.”

In the 18 months to December 2020, IBAC received 879 allegations in relation to the corrections sector — almost 14 per cent of all public sector allegations IBAC assessed over that time.

Victoria’s prison population grew by almost 80 per cent from 2010 to 2019, although the population decreased in 2020 due to the effects of COVID-19.

In that time, Corrections Victoria has recruited more staff and increased its reliance on private prison operators to manage the population.