Employees at Malmsbury youth detention centre have welcomed the deployment of prison officers to restore order.
About 40 additional Corrections Victoria staff – including highly trained response teams, senior management staff and extra prison officers – will be brought on board at both the Malmsbury and Parkville centres.
The move, announced by Families and Children minister Jenny Mikakos, comes after 15 inmates broke out of Malmsbury youth detention centre and were at large in various parts of the state for 24 hours from January 25.
One youth justice worker, who asked not to be named, said there had been serious staffing concerns for some time before the recent disturbances at Malmsbury and Parkville.
“We had been calling for more staff and safer work practices for a long time, but nothing was being done,” the employee told
Star Weekly.
“[Staff] were often outnumbered by clients, four or sometimes five to one.
“Things are much better now that corrections [officers] are on site.
“There is more support and staff feel much safer.”
Ms Mikakos said she was “appalled and angry” about the breakout.
“More violent recidivist offenders coming into our facilities means we need to have the best resources available to us,” she said. “Adult prison officers will move in … to maintain order and protect staff and the community.”
Corrections Minister Gayle Tierney said highly trained corrections staff will also work with police to help prevent “unruly behaviour”.
Staff will operate under the Children, Youth and Families Act as youth justice workers, and will be under the direction and control of the Department of Health and Human Services.
The additional prison officers will also be authorised to use weapons, such as capsicum spray, consistent with the Children, Youth and Families Act and Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.
Their deployment follows a crackdown on youth crime, including longer detention stays, more intensive control programs, and a new offence targeting adults who use young people to commit crimes, Ms Tierney said.
