Officers assaulted and disturbance at Townsville Correctional Centre

Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) can confirm two custodial correctional officers were injured yesterday afternoon by a prisoner at Townsville Correctional Centre.

Around 3.30pm, two prisoners in a secure unit started throwing property and causing damage to the officer station.

The centre was put into lock down and the situation was resolved by officers with no injuries to any parties.

At around 5.30pm, two officers were delivering medication when a prisoner approached them and struck them in the face.

The prisoner was restrained and escorted to the Detention Unit.

The officers were taken to hospital and are receiving further treatment for facial injuries.

CSIU have been advised.

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

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.

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