An inmate at a Sydney jail notorious for understaffing has been allegedly stabbed in the face by another prisoner, in an incident which required guards to use tear gas to control the situation.
Officers from Riverstone Police Area Command were called to the jail after reports of an affray and were told “eight inmates – armed with weapons – were involved in an altercation before corrective services staff intervened,” NSW Police say.
The incident occurred while more than 150 staff from the Parklea Correctional Facility went on a 72-hour strike at 6am Wednesday over fears for their safety due to understaffing.
A 27-year-old and 31-year-old man were injured, and the 31-year-old was taken to hospital for treatment. It understood he is in a stable condition.
As it stands, no charges have been laid.
The inmate was taken to hospital and is in a stable condition, police say. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley
The incident occurred on Thursday at around 11.30am, with a source from the prison telling NCA NewsWire that “no more than 50 officers” would have been on duty at the time of the incident.
They also questioned the use of tear gas to control the incident.
“To have gas deployed to quell the situation, that shouldn’t have happened,” they said.
The prison oversees about 1100 inmates, including maximum security prisoners and men awaiting remand.
The prison, which is privately operated by US multinational MTC, has the state’s worst rates for serious assaults, with officers complaining of weekly fights and attacks on guards.
Parklea Correctional Facility has one of the worst rates of violent incidents among inmates and attacks on staff. Picture: NCA NewsWire / James Gourley
Parklea officer Cliff Caddy estimated that six violent incidents had occurred in the month of February alone, including a prisoner’s alleged attempt to strangle a guard. Two officers were involved the incident, with one suffering facial injuries. Police are still investigating the incident.
“The inmate tried to push away and he strangled one of the officers until another officer came. That was a weekend, when the staffing is under a third of a normal day,” Mr Caddy said.
Another prison officer, Paul, who was allegedly assaulted by a prisoner in November last year, said the violent incidents were a result of reduced staffing, which could drop to 36 rostered officers on a weekend.
“(It gives them) more opportunity to play up, or move contraband,” he said.
Community and Public Sector Union general secretary Stewart Little said prison staff at Parklea were some of the lowest paid in the state and said poor wages have caused an exodus of officers seeking better pay at state-owned facilities.
Without weekend, or evening loading, or overtime entitlements, Mr Little said Parklea officers earned $50,000 less than their government counterparts, who could earn up to $120,000.
“MTC are paying 25 per cent less than the public sector and they think people are just going to go in there in a difficult dangerous facility like Parklea,” said Mr Little.
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