Assaulted JJ staff walk out

Date: 20 July 2004

Staff at the Kariong Juvenile Justice Centre walked out of the centre this morning following assaults on six staff yesterday and fires and disturbances within the centre last night.

The assaults were the latest in a series of attacks on staff at the centre.

The Public Service Association, who represents staff at the centre, claimed that staff had no option but to walk off the job in order to protect themselves from further violence. A skeleton staff remains at the centre with detainees in the centre locked in their rooms.

The PSA is seeking that the detainees responsible for assaulting staff be moved out of the centre. The Association is also seeking that restrictions be placed on other detainees and that management plans for all detainees be strengthened in order to protect staff.

PSA General Secretary John Cahill said, "The Department must act immediately to ensure the safety of staff and the security of the centre. The safety of staff must be paramount."

"The assaults on staff could have and should have been prevented"

"These staff do some of the most difficult and dangerous work in the community. They deserve to be treated better by the Department"

"The staff at the centre a sick and tired of being treated as human punching bags. The detainees in Kariong are the most dangerous juvenile detainees in the state. The management of the Department needs to address this danger."

For further information

Contact:	Andrew wilson, Industrial Officer
Union:	Public Service Association of NSW
Phone:	9220 0969
Contact Mobile:	0408 213 339
Email:	awilson@psa.asn.au
WWW:	http://psa.labor.net.au/

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