Name

Address

Occupation

STATEMENT OF NICOLE MAREE JESS

26 July 2019

Nicole Maree Jess

160 Clarence Street, Sydney NSW 2001

Senior Correctional Officer

On 26/07/2019, I, Nicole Maree Jess, state:

1. This statement made by me accurately sets out the evidence that I would be prepared,

if necessary, to give in court as a witness. The statement is true to the best of my

knowledge and belief and I make it knowing that, if it is tendered in evidence, I will

be liable to prosecution if I have wilfully stated in it anything that I know to be false,

or do not believe to be true.

2. I am the Chair of the Prison Officers Vocational Branch, and also Senior Vice President

of the Public Service Association of NSW. I also am a Senior Correctional Officer at

the Silverwater Women's Correctional Centre.

The role and membership of the Prison Officers Vocational Branch of New South

Wales.

3. The Prison Officers Vocational Branch (POVB) of the Public Service Association of NSW,

is an industrial union that represents Non-Commissioned Correctional Officers

employed by Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW). The POVB has approximately 5100

financial members as of today. The Rules of the POVB are governed by the charter

established by the Registered Rules and Bylaws of the Public Service Association of

NSW under the Industrial Relations Act 1996.

Date I 1

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4. The main purpose of the Prison Officers Vocational Branch is to advocate for and

support members' working conditions and pay whilst they work for Corrective Services

in correctional centres, courts, transport, hospitals and other locations in NSW.

5. The structure includes a POVB Executive, State Delegates Committee and a

representative delegate structure in every workplace.

Information received from members in relation to their experience with inmates affected by crystal methamphetamine and other amphetamine type stimulants (ATS).

6. The POVB members will usually contact the Executive of the POVB, if members have

concerns that inmates affected by amphetamine type stimulants (ATS) are posing a

threat to staff safety, usually after an incident.

7. The POVB Executive is regularly informed by our membership of incidents involving

inmates affected by amphetamine type stimulants (ATS). However, most low order

incidents will only be reported at a local level in the correctional centre or court cells,

where the inmate is presented.

8. It is not information that the POVB has formally requested. However, Corrective

Services has a statistical branch that deals with this type of data titled Corrections

Research Evaluation and Statistics.

Members reporting challenges in relation to:

a. ATS-affected inmates in custody;

9. POVB members report to senior CSNSW managers, both verbally and in writing, any

issues or concerns relating to inmates that may be affected by ATS.

10. These issues are particularly prevalent in court cells, transport, reception and remand

centres both in the city and regions, as this is where the inmate transitions from using

substances to a reduced availability of substances.

11. These issues relate to self-harm, irrational and violent behaviour, symptoms of

withdrawal, uncertain medical conditions, psychosis and difficulty with screening.

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b. Inmates with mental health and ATS problems?

12. CSNSW houses many inmates with various mental health issues. If those inmates are

affected by ATS it can make managing them far more difficult and dangerous.

Members' report on collaboration with other providers, such as counsellors,

program providers and staff of Justice Health and Forensic Mental Health?

Suggestions for improving these relationships?

13. The POVB members in general would raise issues and concerns with their direct line

manager. This manager would normally be a Commissioned Officer (in some centres

a Senior Correctional Officer), those managers would then liaise with other providers.

Any results of their interactions will be filtered back down to the POVB members and

recorded on the case management system.

14. There is also a case management model that is being applied differently in different

centres. After benchmarking this difference is often regarding who sits on multi­

disciplined case management teams.

15. Generally, the service providers work well together at a local level, with a few

exceptions from time to time. The pressures that cause some difficulty generally arise

from sources external to the correctional centre; with benchmark and budget targets

requiring alterations to work patterns and workloads, sometimes to the detriment of

staff and the inmates (some of whom are suffering from mental illness or ATS effects).

16. The sharing of information between service providers in regard to medical precautions

needs to be improved. There have been situations where POVB members have

responded to incidents involving violent inmates assaulting officers with bodily fluids,

only to have Justice Health staff enter suited up in PPE due to their prior knowledge

of the infectious diseases the inmate has. We have been meeting with the department

to develop a protocol for officers to be informed of the risks and precautions

appropriate for each inmate, so that when they react to an incident, they are not

exposed to unnecessary health risks as well as the risks associated with applying legal

use of force.

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Particular challenges or issues faced as a result of any correlation between ATS use and mental illness?

17. In the centre where I work, there are 13 acute crisis beds (Mental Health Screening Unit) for a reception centre that houses 378 inmates. There are approximately 600 other female inmates elsewhere in the state. Many of these are suffering from a form of mental health illness due to ATS or could become affected by ATS and require placement in this unit.

18. There are 17 behavioural beds (Mum Shirl Unit) and there may be a further 10 to 15 inmates waiting to be placed in either unit. Those inmates will be waiting in the induction unit with cameras in cells, but with minimal resources to deal with their health or behavioural issues nor with adequate monitoring.

19. From my experience, female and Aboriginal inmates have a higher level of self-harm and drug related issues that must be managed.

20. There are a number of challenges that correctional officers face when working with inmates affected by ATS use and mental illness. ATS use often leads to irrational behaviour, psychosis, self-harm and violence towards others, as well as triggering a range of other mental health illnesses. These behaviours are commonly referred to by psychologists in their reports about the mental health of the inmates affected by ATS use. Withdrawal is also common. I am not a psychologist or psychiatrist and will leave this correlation to these experts for which Corrective Services employs.

21. Problems arise particularly for ATS affected inmates in the three main types of facility where offenders enter the justice system, including: court cells, reception and remand centres (including medical escorts) and transport.

22. Court cells and reception centres (depending on the location) will often have a number of inmates in a single cell. If the inmate displays violent or self-harm behaviour the officer is limited in their ability to enter the cell as there is a safety protocol relating to entering cells requiring a minimum number of officers. This is particularly prevalent in court cells where there may only be two officers in some regional locations for the entire shift, making cell extractions, escorts, fights and medical issues difficult to manage safely.

23. There is very little specific assistance rendered by the cells design, with many cells having difficult access and limited space to enable the legal use of force.

24. There is currently no specific training provided to deal with ATS affected inmates.

25. De-escalation techniques are often inadequate for these type of behaviours and conditions.

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26. There is a lack of suitable restraining devices permitted and/or available to deal with violent or self-harming inmates. We do not have access to restraint chairs or restraint devices for people experiencing ATS affected incidents.

27. We currently have in some facilities a helmet to minimise head injuries for people undertaking self-harm, for head-banging. However, many inmates are able to get these helmets off relatively easily. Similarly, the currently available restraints can be ineffective due to the freedom of movement still available to the inmate.

28. Across the state there are a limited number of observation cells where individual inmates can be continuously observed. I have not had the opportunity to travel around the state and review all centres. But on Wednesday this week I attended the new build at Mid-North Coast in Kempsey. The new build reception centre increases the maximum state to 1090 inmates with 400 new beds. There are only 10 observation cells in the new build and 6 in the old cells. Just over 1 % of beds are observation cells whilst the ATS affected and mental health population is often larger.

29. A large amount of inmates present with ATS drug dependency and/or mental health issues. There are not enough specialist beds in the system to deal with this level of mental health inmates. For example, the new Mental Health Hospital being built in the MRRC at Silverwater has already got a backlog of patients requiring its services enough to fill it and more when it is completed.

30. A very small percentage of inmates with the need, will end up in the Forensic Hospital at Long Bay or Long Bay Hospital where the necessary level of services are available.

31. As a further example of how the issue of ATS affected inmates and mental health inmates can cause detriment to officers, the MRRC is currently the largest gaol in NSW. It has a number of mental health inmates who require single cells, making the cost to the system higher, which leads to ongoing threats under the benchmarking regime of job cuts, market testing and privatisation.

32. There is a lack of Justice Health services and other program services, such as drug and alcohol, available in the court cells and across the state in the remand and reception centres. There is a requirement for Justice Health to screen new receptions in gaols for physical and mental health, but regularly this screening process does not complete within the shift. Under benchmarking, many inmates will need to be kept in cells without access to possible medications that may be able to assist the inmate's wellbeing until the following day for the screening window.

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Impact these challenges have on custodial officers?

33. Dealing with mental health and ATS affected inmates is extremely difficult, even for experienced officers. There is a duty of care which requires:

• maintenance of regular monitoring;

• resourcing issues as many of the inmates cannot be put in cells with other inmates; and

• the issue of personal safety of the officer and their co-workers.

There are also the medical issues and particular issues with self-harm and harm to others.

34. Whilst officers can use force as per the legislation, this does not guarantee compliance or reduce the risk of injury. There are plenty of examples of inmates on ice assaulting and significantly injuring officers, before being restrained. These officers suffer life and career threatening physical injuries as well as their own trauma related mental health issues. The officers must follow procedures and have little choice but to enter into harm's way.

35. Inmates affected by ATS or mental health issues will often require:

• more medical escorts to hospital particular after self-harm;

• individual monitoring;

• greater need for services and programs;

• have greater need for individual attention from officers; and

• greater number of escorts when moving the inmate within the centre or on escort.

This extra individual attention in some centres results in staff numbers being affected by the use of officers for activities such as hospital escorts or escorts inside gaols. This leaves less staff to monitor at risk inmates, and maintain and respond to other incidents in the centres.

Staff are also often required to lock down after incidents for safety reasons and to preserve evidence at the scene of a crime. This leads to a circular effect of restricting inmates to their cells and further risks of inmate frustration, this frustration then directed towards members of staff.

36. Staff burn out is on the increase. I am not sure of statistics but it is my personal opinion that the debriefing around managing ATS inmates is insufficient.

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Strategies custodial officers employ to deal with these challenges? Are they effective?

37. As described above, the staffing levels, design of cells, physical restraints, training and access to health services are particularly limited. De-escalation and use of force also have their limitations.

38. Locally, different techniques have been developed to deal with ATS affected inmates and mental health inmates. For example, where I work at Silverwater Women's CC, a process was developed for female inmates to be assessed by psychiatrists, psychologists and mental health nurses (who could prescribe medication) for best placement and for immediate access to medication. When a rotation of management took place within the centre, the process fell down and finished. This was also due to a change in staffing for mental health nurses in the centre. A shift in resources from one centre to another centre took place. When staff are rotated to a new location their knowledge may not be at the same level as the staff they are replacing and there is little to no training.

Resources, strategies and training that Corrective Services NSW and/ or Juvenile Justice have to respond to ATS affected individuals, demonstrating mental health comorbidities?

39. POVB have a consequences regime, but have limited:

• observation cells;

• segregation cells; and

• procedures to lawfully use force to restrain inmates.

40. The POVB does not speak for Juvenile Justice Youth Officers as they are a different branch of the Public Service Association within a different part of the Justice agency. In my other role as Senior Vice President of the Public Service Association, I regularly hear reports from the Juvenile Justice jurisdiction. Unfortunately, due to management decisions and approaches to the different laws surrounding juvenile offenders, the Juvenile Justice Youth Officers are much more limited in their ability to respond to ATS affected individuals.

41. Juvenile offenders are usually more volatile than adult offenders, but when mixed with ATS effects and a highly limited regime to manage behaviour, this leads to a number of assaults on other detainees and staff. As an example, a member was recently assaulted by a detainee suspected of being ATS affected in the Riverina Juvenile Justice Centre.

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Resources, strategies and training are inadequate

42. As described above, there are inadequate staffing, strategies, training, and physical resources to deal with ATS affected and mental health inmates.

Differences between the issues experienced by custodial officers in metropolitan Sydney compared with those in regional areas?

43. There is no notable difference between metropolitan and regional locations for POVB

members, as inmates in all CSNSW facilities have the same wants and needs. Similarly,

the presence of ATS affected inmates is prominent in both Sydney and also regional

NSW.

44. Differences arise from access to additional services. There are only three Correctional

Centres with 24-hour justice health available - Long Bay, Metropolitan Remand and

Reception Centre and Silverwater Women's Centre. Also, there is a greater proximity

to hospital services in metropolitan Sydney, meaning medical escorts of ATS affected

inmates to a hospital may be more timely and may not involve as much travel time.

Medical Escorts are conducted in a secure van if the medical condition is not acute or

in an ambulance with an escort.

Information from members in relation to injuries they may have received while

in their capacity as a custodial officer related to substance use by inmates, for

example, needle-stick injuries?

45. Correctional Officers are exposed to a risk of injury through assault, needle stick

injuries and possible infectious diseases that implements may carry or through bodily

fluids. Additionally, the risk of electrocution has recently been identified through the

use of foil to heat up nicotine patches for smoking, which could similarly be applied to

inhale amphetamines.

POVB members usually contact the POVB Executive if the above occurs, mainly for

assistance with worker's compensation and psychological support. For several months

the POVB have been involved in consultations with Justice Health at the Henry Deane

Building regarding a range of transferable biological medical conditions. With regard

to the prevalence of incidents, notification forms, and any post incident investigations,

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we would suggest that the Corrective Services CRES unit would be able to supply more

detailed information.

46. The exposure of correctional officers to inmates' bodily fluids causes significant stress

to members of the POVB and is unfortunately very common. As there is a higher

infection rate of blood borne diseases in prison and drug using populations, exposure

to bodily fluids can be a death sentence. Awareness of this risk can cause many

officers to fall into a mental health spiral where they will take many months off work.

47. Exposure to bodily fluids will also result in multiple blood tests over a number of weeks,

with a recommendation that there be no intimate contact between the officer and their

partner.

48. As previously stated staff are suffering from mental fatigue. Psychologists get

supervision when dealing with ATS inmates that are housed in the Mental Health Units,

custodial staff do not. When dealing with ATS inmates, there are constant interactions

that range from consistent knock ups on the alarm system to use of force to maintain

control and protect the inmate from self-harming. Staff have to deal with ATS on a

daily basis and as stated, with insufficient debriefs or supervision. I do not have

statistics as to how many staff are currently off work with mental fatigue or who have

gone off but my opinion would be that the numbers have increased.

Whether a needle and syringe program in NSW custodial facilities would be

supported?

49. No. The POVB would never support a needle and syringe program in any NSW

Correctional locations and have a history of opposing these programs. This would be

openly supporting illegal drug activity in a Correctional environment which conflicts

with the systems in place that we are obliged to follow.

50. Syringes have been used as weapons against correctional officers in the past and are

also contraband.

51. A syringe program would not stop the use of ATS nor would it stop the effects ATS

have on individuals.

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Further information we wish to provide in relation to the experience of members

relevant to the issues raised above.

52. NSW does not have enough mental health facilities in gaols. We advocate to build

more and place mentally ill people in an environment where they can receive the

appropriate care.

53. There is also inadequate access to appropriate restraining devices for ATS affected

and mental health inmates to prevent self-harm or harm towards others.

54. There is inadequate specifically designed facilities to manage ATS affected and mental

health inmates, to minimise harm to themselves or others.

55. There is inadequate training for staff in managing ATS affected inmates.

56. There is inadequate staffing to manage ATS affected inmates and mental health

inmates.

57. There is inadequate access to appropriate Justice Health assistance for ATS affected

and mental health inmates.

58. There is inadequate technology to assist staff in detecting contraband (possible ATS)

in centres. John Moroney Correctional Centre has a body x-ray machine. As yet it is

in its trial phase, but I hear from POVB members that it is an effective tool in limiting

and detecting contraband being introduced into the centre.

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