Nemesis
11-18-2004, 02:42 PM
news.com.au (http://www.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11423460%255E26462,00.html)
By Norrie Ross
November 18, 2004
A MELBOURNE police jail has been described as a hellhole and "the Bronx of prisons".
The privately-run Melbourne Custody Centre is overcrowded, poorly managed and occasionally dangerous, according to disgruntled staff.
Five women custody officers are on long-term stress leave because of what they claim are intolerable working conditions.
Their complaints include sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying, victimisation, intimidation and poor treatment of inmates.
They say the centre is understaffed and custody officers deal with inmates who are often drunk, violent, drugged or mentally disturbed.
All of the women's WorkCover claims have been accepted and the complaints of three will be heard by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal next year.
The centre, which is beneath Melbourne Magistrates' Court in Lonsdale St, is run by the GEO Group Australia, formerly Australasian Correctional Management.
ACM, an offshoot of an American corrections giant, has a troubled history in Australia.
There were federal government inquiries and penalties over the way it ran Woomera Detention Centre. The company also runs Fulham Correctional Centre.
In May last year, Corrections Minister Andre Haermeyer began a probe into the company's operations.
Bruna Moressi, one of the corrections officers on stress leave, said working at the centre became a nightmare.
She and four colleagues suffered major depression and ill-health as well as the knowledge they would never be allowed to return to their jobs.
"Melbourne Custody Centre is mismanaged through and through," Ms Moressi said.
"Everything is just shonky. People are bullied and harassed if they make a complaint, and any problems are covered up."
Although the centre was built for 67 inmates waiting to appear in court, Ms Moressi said there have been up to 120 packed into its 30 cramped, airless cells.
Overcrowding in police cells around Melbourne and in prisons means some inmates are being confined for up to six weeks.
The centre is also used by police as a drunk tank. It is also the only police jail with padded cells for psychotic inmates and other people with serious psychiatric illnesses.
"None of the staff have training with psych patients and the centre is not properly equipped to deal with these people," Ms Moressi said.
"I've had blood sprayed into my mouth and eyes, been spat on and assaulted. It's a hellhole. It's the Bronx of prisons."
Seriously disturbed inmates are often kept in cells with their wrists and ankles in handcuffs because staff have no other way of controlling them.
Anne Chiang said she cracked under the pressure of working in the centre. She witnessed the inhumane treatment of a psychiatrically disturbed woman.
"I complained. I sent a report up to head office and to the police monitor. I asked for an investigation, but nothing happened," she said.
Geoff Lewin, Workcover officer of the Community and Public Sector Union, said GEO had failed to provide benefits to the women or offer any hope of a return to work.
A spokeswoman for GEO said staffing levels were above minimum requirements, and last year the centre was given high marks for management, safety and care of inmates.
A Workcover spokesman confirmed there had been serious complaints about the centre.
A spokeswoman for Police Minister Andre Haermeyer said it was an operational matter for Victoria Police.
Herald Sun
By Norrie Ross
November 18, 2004
A MELBOURNE police jail has been described as a hellhole and "the Bronx of prisons".
The privately-run Melbourne Custody Centre is overcrowded, poorly managed and occasionally dangerous, according to disgruntled staff.
Five women custody officers are on long-term stress leave because of what they claim are intolerable working conditions.
Their complaints include sexual harassment, discrimination, bullying, victimisation, intimidation and poor treatment of inmates.
They say the centre is understaffed and custody officers deal with inmates who are often drunk, violent, drugged or mentally disturbed.
All of the women's WorkCover claims have been accepted and the complaints of three will be heard by the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal next year.
The centre, which is beneath Melbourne Magistrates' Court in Lonsdale St, is run by the GEO Group Australia, formerly Australasian Correctional Management.
ACM, an offshoot of an American corrections giant, has a troubled history in Australia.
There were federal government inquiries and penalties over the way it ran Woomera Detention Centre. The company also runs Fulham Correctional Centre.
In May last year, Corrections Minister Andre Haermeyer began a probe into the company's operations.
Bruna Moressi, one of the corrections officers on stress leave, said working at the centre became a nightmare.
She and four colleagues suffered major depression and ill-health as well as the knowledge they would never be allowed to return to their jobs.
"Melbourne Custody Centre is mismanaged through and through," Ms Moressi said.
"Everything is just shonky. People are bullied and harassed if they make a complaint, and any problems are covered up."
Although the centre was built for 67 inmates waiting to appear in court, Ms Moressi said there have been up to 120 packed into its 30 cramped, airless cells.
Overcrowding in police cells around Melbourne and in prisons means some inmates are being confined for up to six weeks.
The centre is also used by police as a drunk tank. It is also the only police jail with padded cells for psychotic inmates and other people with serious psychiatric illnesses.
"None of the staff have training with psych patients and the centre is not properly equipped to deal with these people," Ms Moressi said.
"I've had blood sprayed into my mouth and eyes, been spat on and assaulted. It's a hellhole. It's the Bronx of prisons."
Seriously disturbed inmates are often kept in cells with their wrists and ankles in handcuffs because staff have no other way of controlling them.
Anne Chiang said she cracked under the pressure of working in the centre. She witnessed the inhumane treatment of a psychiatrically disturbed woman.
"I complained. I sent a report up to head office and to the police monitor. I asked for an investigation, but nothing happened," she said.
Geoff Lewin, Workcover officer of the Community and Public Sector Union, said GEO had failed to provide benefits to the women or offer any hope of a return to work.
A spokeswoman for GEO said staffing levels were above minimum requirements, and last year the centre was given high marks for management, safety and care of inmates.
A Workcover spokesman confirmed there had been serious complaints about the centre.
A spokeswoman for Police Minister Andre Haermeyer said it was an operational matter for Victoria Police.
Herald Sun