1 00:00:00,280 --> 00:00:02,480 Speaker 1: Now. Earlier in the week, we were contacted by a 2 00:00:02,520 --> 00:00:06,000 Speaker 1: couple of concerned listeners who had told us that a 3 00:00:06,040 --> 00:00:10,160 Speaker 1: corrections officer had been assaulted on his way home from work. 4 00:00:10,600 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: Now we were also, of course, a couple of weeks ago, 5 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,480 Speaker 1: and another message coming through this morning from a corrections 6 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: officer contacting us saying that they're also worried about some 7 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:27,880 Speaker 1: prisoners who commit offenses against corrections officers. Behind the wire 8 00:00:28,360 --> 00:00:33,320 Speaker 1: receiving concurrent sentences. Now joining me on the line is 9 00:00:33,640 --> 00:00:36,400 Speaker 1: Erina Early, who is indeed the head of the United 10 00:00:36,440 --> 00:00:39,080 Speaker 1: Workers Union. Good morning to you, Erina. 11 00:00:39,240 --> 00:00:40,360 Speaker 2: Good morning, Katie. 12 00:00:40,400 --> 00:00:44,239 Speaker 1: Good to have you on the show. Now, Erina, we 13 00:00:44,600 --> 00:00:48,159 Speaker 1: had been contacted by a few people this week saying 14 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: that there was an assault on a corrections officer walking home. 15 00:00:53,760 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 1: Do you know what the situation is here? 16 00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:59,880 Speaker 2: Yeah, sure, Katie. So I'm on the thirty for June. 17 00:01:00,240 --> 00:01:02,960 Speaker 2: We had a correctional officer who was actually off duty, 18 00:01:04,240 --> 00:01:08,000 Speaker 2: was walking his dog at lunchtime, so he wasn't in 19 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:11,639 Speaker 2: uniform or anything, was attacked with a knife. 20 00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:15,600 Speaker 1: Oh my goodness, is he okay? 21 00:01:15,640 --> 00:01:23,280 Speaker 2: First off, not really, Katie, He's pretty broken. The person 22 00:01:23,280 --> 00:01:28,000 Speaker 2: who attacked him identified that he knew that the officer 23 00:01:28,120 --> 00:01:32,080 Speaker 2: was a correctional officer, so he was aware that the 24 00:01:32,120 --> 00:01:36,319 Speaker 2: person he was attacking was a correctional officer, which has 25 00:01:36,400 --> 00:01:41,600 Speaker 2: actually scared this person themselves and all other anti correctional 26 00:01:41,640 --> 00:01:42,280 Speaker 2: officers here. 27 00:01:42,400 --> 00:01:45,040 Speaker 1: Well, it is bloody scary because then you think to yourself, 28 00:01:45,040 --> 00:01:47,240 Speaker 1: all right, well, when you're off, Judy, if you've got 29 00:01:47,280 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 1: somebody who's been behind the bars before, who's then you know, 30 00:01:52,680 --> 00:01:56,920 Speaker 1: released because they've served their sentence or whatever, you know, 31 00:01:57,160 --> 00:01:59,480 Speaker 1: you can't be sure that they're not going to do 32 00:01:59,520 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: something to you when you're out living your everyday life. 33 00:02:04,480 --> 00:02:09,600 Speaker 2: Absolutely, I'm Katie, and this officer, you know, was a 34 00:02:09,639 --> 00:02:13,000 Speaker 2: big bloke and for someone to come up to him 35 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:17,519 Speaker 2: stab him, have eighteen stitches in his arm, He's now 36 00:02:17,600 --> 00:02:20,200 Speaker 2: got some damage to his eyes, he got a black eye, 37 00:02:20,240 --> 00:02:24,160 Speaker 2: he's got marks on his face, some cut wounds there. 38 00:02:24,880 --> 00:02:29,639 Speaker 2: So the physical wounds were healed, but the psychological injuries 39 00:02:29,639 --> 00:02:31,919 Speaker 2: and the scar that he's got are never going to heal. 40 00:02:32,360 --> 00:02:36,200 Speaker 1: Erina, do you know if somebody has been charged following 41 00:02:36,240 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: this assault. 42 00:02:37,960 --> 00:02:41,720 Speaker 2: I'm not aware, Katie, because I do know that I 43 00:02:41,720 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 2: think you mentioned it earlier. There was another officer a 44 00:02:44,320 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 2: couple of weeks ago who was attacked as well, and 45 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:50,280 Speaker 2: he was off duty and they identified him as the 46 00:02:50,320 --> 00:02:53,760 Speaker 2: correctional officer and yeah, he's not back at work either. 47 00:02:54,000 --> 00:02:57,320 Speaker 1: Erina, was that the fellow and Alice Springs. 48 00:02:57,560 --> 00:03:00,720 Speaker 2: Yes, that's correct, Katie Ye look. 49 00:03:02,040 --> 00:03:04,040 Speaker 1: Has I mean, I don't want to say just too, 50 00:03:04,120 --> 00:03:07,560 Speaker 1: but are we just talking to assaults here on correctional 51 00:03:07,560 --> 00:03:11,360 Speaker 1: officers outside of work hours or are you concerned that 52 00:03:11,400 --> 00:03:12,880 Speaker 1: this is a bit of a rising trend. 53 00:03:14,440 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 2: Well, the last couple of weeks we've had these two 54 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:20,280 Speaker 2: identified attacks. Our officers now are concerned this is going 55 00:03:20,360 --> 00:03:26,919 Speaker 2: to be a trend. It's not something that they experience often. Yes, 56 00:03:27,080 --> 00:03:30,960 Speaker 2: they get the verbal assaults, etc. But someone to physically 57 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:34,440 Speaker 2: attack them and identify them as officers that they know 58 00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:39,160 Speaker 2: them from the prison has rarely hit home to the 59 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 2: officers because, as you know, I've been on your show 60 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:45,320 Speaker 2: quite a few times talking about officers don't feel safe 61 00:03:45,320 --> 00:03:48,240 Speaker 2: at work. They now don't feel safe in their own 62 00:03:48,280 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 2: personal space. 63 00:03:49,920 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: Which is a real worry for them because we need 64 00:03:53,120 --> 00:03:57,400 Speaker 1: good people doing these jobs, good hard working territories, and 65 00:03:57,400 --> 00:03:59,120 Speaker 1: we've got to be able to keep them safe to 66 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:03,800 Speaker 1: be able to do the jobs. In terms of, you know, 67 00:04:04,920 --> 00:04:08,040 Speaker 1: the sentencing that then if they are court, if they 68 00:04:08,120 --> 00:04:10,760 Speaker 1: are charged. I mean, even this morning, we had somebody 69 00:04:10,760 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 1: get in contact with us and they another corrections officer 70 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:16,520 Speaker 1: have been in contact with us a couple of weeks 71 00:04:16,560 --> 00:04:19,239 Speaker 1: ago saying, you know, Katie, there'd been a prison officer 72 00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:23,880 Speaker 1: who was knocked unconscious. The person who did that was 73 00:04:23,920 --> 00:04:27,039 Speaker 1: given a ten month sentence to be served concurrently with 74 00:04:27,120 --> 00:04:31,040 Speaker 1: his current sentence. Now, obviously those that are in contact 75 00:04:31,080 --> 00:04:36,040 Speaker 1: with us are concerned that this is not adequate. I 76 00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:38,560 Speaker 1: know that we're talking about a judgment that has obviously 77 00:04:38,640 --> 00:04:40,680 Speaker 1: gone through the courts, so we may I don't know 78 00:04:40,720 --> 00:04:43,000 Speaker 1: whether you're limited in what you can or cannot say 79 00:04:43,440 --> 00:04:47,719 Speaker 1: to any degree, but it just like it feels like 80 00:04:48,320 --> 00:04:51,599 Speaker 1: those corrections officers are pretty concerned that they can be 81 00:04:51,640 --> 00:04:57,279 Speaker 1: assaulted and you know, and really the perpetrator not receive 82 00:04:58,240 --> 00:05:00,960 Speaker 1: any further time on their sentence. 83 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:06,280 Speaker 2: Oh absolutely, Katy, and I think you've hit the nail 84 00:05:06,279 --> 00:05:10,039 Speaker 2: on their head. There is so what happens. And I'm 85 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,040 Speaker 2: not a lawyer or anything there, but from my understanding 86 00:05:13,279 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 2: is that when they look at the sentencing here, they 87 00:05:16,680 --> 00:05:19,480 Speaker 2: look at how long they're already in the prison for 88 00:05:19,640 --> 00:05:24,080 Speaker 2: and that sentence also too, they look at their background 89 00:05:24,240 --> 00:05:27,080 Speaker 2: or any other external factors and that's how they make 90 00:05:27,160 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 2: the decision on their the sentencing eron like. 91 00:05:32,200 --> 00:05:35,720 Speaker 1: How are our correctional officers feeling at the moment, I mean, 92 00:05:35,760 --> 00:05:38,640 Speaker 1: when you look at these these two assaults that have 93 00:05:38,680 --> 00:05:42,479 Speaker 1: happened on correctional officers outside of the workplace, when you 94 00:05:42,480 --> 00:05:45,160 Speaker 1: look at the issues that they're still dealing with inside 95 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:47,760 Speaker 1: as well. You and I have spoken on numerous occasions 96 00:05:47,760 --> 00:05:48,479 Speaker 1: about those. 97 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:55,159 Speaker 2: They're they're pretty worried, Katie, because these two attacks recently 98 00:05:55,240 --> 00:05:59,159 Speaker 2: from the two officers, even though they're outside of their 99 00:05:59,200 --> 00:06:03,360 Speaker 2: workplace if door connection to their workplace. So they are 100 00:06:03,480 --> 00:06:08,880 Speaker 2: concerned that the increased prisoner's numbers are actually paying important 101 00:06:08,960 --> 00:06:13,880 Speaker 2: role in this because they've got so many prisoners now 102 00:06:14,440 --> 00:06:17,840 Speaker 2: in there that basically they're sitting targets. 103 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:21,000 Speaker 1: So what do you think needs to happen here? Because 104 00:06:21,040 --> 00:06:26,040 Speaker 1: I mean, obviously Territorians victims of crime, want violent offenders 105 00:06:26,120 --> 00:06:28,480 Speaker 1: off the street. But you know, we know that the 106 00:06:28,960 --> 00:06:30,919 Speaker 1: prisons are very very full. 107 00:06:32,920 --> 00:06:38,000 Speaker 2: Look, it's a very difficult discussion I think to have, Katie, 108 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:40,360 Speaker 2: because it's like the chicken or the egg isn't it 109 00:06:41,600 --> 00:06:44,479 Speaker 2: with this one. So we know that we have to 110 00:06:44,640 --> 00:06:48,560 Speaker 2: ensure always have to ensure work is safety. We know 111 00:06:48,680 --> 00:06:51,840 Speaker 2: that there is a crime issue here. Locking everyone up 112 00:06:52,040 --> 00:06:55,120 Speaker 2: is that the best option? I don't know. But we 113 00:06:55,160 --> 00:06:59,040 Speaker 2: need to ensure that our officers are always safe in 114 00:06:59,080 --> 00:07:00,880 Speaker 2: the prison the priority. 115 00:07:00,960 --> 00:07:03,440 Speaker 1: Yeah. Absolutely, they need to be safe. They need to 116 00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:06,719 Speaker 1: be safe to be able to do their jobs. Erina early, 117 00:07:07,120 --> 00:07:08,680 Speaker 1: we're gonna have to leave it there. Thank you as 118 00:07:08,720 --> 00:07:10,520 Speaker 1: always for your time. I appreciate it. 119 00:07:11,040 --> 00:07:12,400 Speaker 2: No thanks, Katie, but nice. 120 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:13,640 Speaker 1: We thank you you too.