Prison safety in focus after officer’s horrific abuse
Alex Mitchell |
Less than a third of recommendations stemming from an inquiry into a rogue prison guard’s sexual abuse have been implemented a year after a government committed to the reforms.
Former corrections officer Wayne Astill was jailed for 23 years in 2023 for abusing nine women while working at the Dillwynia Correctional Centre in Sydney’s west.
A subsequent inquiry found a string of failures in the state’s prison system, including missed red flags that should have initially stopped Astill from ever being employed.
All recommendations from the Special Commission of Inquiry conducted by Peter McLellan KC, which delivered its findings in March last year, would be accepted in full or in principle, the NSW government later said.
However only nine of 31 points of recommendation have been fully implemented on the first anniversary of its response.
The one-year mark comes in the same week convicted baby killer Keli Lane continued her Supreme Court action against a string of current and former prison staff – including Astill – for abuse suffered behind bars.
Lane, who is almost 15 years through an 18-year sentence for murdering her newborn daughter Tegan in 1996, has also named Peter Severin, who died in August after serving as prisons commissioner from 2012 to 2021.
The NSW government has brought in some of the inquiry’s recommendations, including laws to make all sexual relationships between staff and inmates illegal.
A stand-alone governor has also been appointed at the Dillwynia Correctional Centre and other reporting measures have been established.
But Corrections Minister Anoulack Chanthivong conceded on Saturday that the government had plenty more to do to ensure the “deplorable and unconscionable crimes” could not happen again.
“While many improvements are now in place, there is work still needing to be done,” he said.
“We take seriously our responsibility to reform the NSW prison system into one that properly protects inmates and ensures our hardworking staff are safe and supported.”
The government has also provided sexual assault trauma counselling to Astill’s victims and improved CCTV and body-worn camera coverage at Dillwynia.
The state was accused of running a kangaroo court inside prisons in August after a scathing report found thousands of conduct charges could be incorrect.
The NSW Ombudsman found thousands of prison punishments each year were likely applied unfairly amid sometimes blatantly unlawful processes.
1800 RESPECT (1800 737 732)
National Sexual Abuse and Redress Support Service 1800 211 028
AAP
