Tasmania has the highest rate of assaults against corrections officers by prisoners in the nation, the State Opposition says.
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Labor Corrections spokeswoman Ella Haddad said serious on-going concerns in relation to staff and inmate safety were highlighted by damning findings in a Report on Government Services.
She said the report showed that Tasmania had the second highest incidence of assaults by prisoners against other inmates.
Ms Haddad said assaults against staff by prisoners occurred at a rate of 2.7 per 100 prisoners.
"This is by far the highest in the country and up from 0.6 per cent in 2013-14," she said.
Prisoner on prisoner assaults occurred at a rate of 17.5 assaults per 100 prisoners - the second highest rate in the country and up from just five per cent in 2013-14
"The fact is the Corrections Minister Elise Archer has a mountain of evidence on her desk telling her the situation at the prison remains on a knife's edge but she refuses to act and she refuses to listen," Ms Haddad said.
"The prison remains overcrowded, staff numbers are often too short to safely operate individual shifts and working conditions are dangerous.
"Ms Archer has received countless reports from the Custodial Inspector outlining these facts and her inaction led to stop work action last year - but she still does not act."
Corrections Minister Elise Archer said the State's low imprisonment rate and small prison population meant figures were prone to fluctuations which were not present in larger jurisdictions.
"The Government has taken a range of actions to improve safety and security for both staff and prisoners," she said.
"It includes additional resources to support staff at our prison facilities.
"The TPS has embarked on an intensive recruitment drive nationally for additional correctional staff, targeting experienced Correctional Officers and new recruits, to address the challenges within the prison service, with more frequent training courses scheduled than ever before.
"Funding has been provided to meet increased demand for rehabilitative and intervention programs, education and therapeutic support services.
Me Archer said funding had also been allocated to address inadequacies in prison infrastructure and for security improvements at the Ron Barwick Prison, and to increase accommodation capacity at the Mary Hutchinson Women's Prison.
"In addition, significant progress is being made on the development of the new $85 million 140 bed Southern Remand Centre," she said.
Ms Archer said victims of assault receive immediate medical assessment and treatment, and, where necessary, are provided with ongoing care and support as appropriate.
"Assaults against prisoners and staff are always completely unacceptable. The safety of staff and prisoners is the number one priority of the Government and the Tasmania Prison Service (TPS)," she said.
"All incidents of assault are taken very seriously by prison management and are followed up through the prisoner disciplinary process or by referral to Tasmania Police (where appropriate), as well as being reviewed from a workplace health and safety perspective."
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