Officer assaulted at Maryborough Correctional Centre

QCS can confirm that a custodial correctional officer has been injured during an incident involving a prisoner at Maryborough Correctional Centre yesterday.

Officers attempted to enter the cell of a prisoner yesterday afternoon when he became non-compliant.

Responding officers were forced to use chemical agents to subdue the prisoner, and one officer was taken to hospital for assessment and has since been released.

The prisoner was escorted to the Detention Unit.

Management and senior officers are continuing to support the officer, their family and their colleagues.

Prisoners who assault officers may face additional criminal charges and further prison time.

They are also subject to internal disciplinary processes, including loss of privileges.

Unfortunately from time to time our officers are required to put themselves in harm’s way to ensure the safety and security of the community.

We are thankful for their commitment, and for the important role they play in making Queensland safer for all of us.

Every day our officers interact with the most challenging and complex people in our society.

Officer safety is Queensland Corrective Services’ absolute priority. Every officer deserves to go home safely at the end of shift.

We take our responsibility as an employer to support our officers through appropriate training and provision of equipment, technology, and policy support very seriously, but recognise that we cannot remove all risk from the workplace due to the dynamic nature of correctional environments.

People who have been removed from society for violent or anti-social behaviour sometimes display that same behaviour in a prison environment, despite the best efforts of our officers to de-escalate situations.

When an officer is injured on duty, QCS is committed to supporting the officer and their family while they recover.