35 new prison officers in the Northern Territory have joined the ranks of correctional staff this week adding to a workforce in dire need of support. They've undergone rigorous training but with overcrowded prisons and conditions that some have described as 'inhumane', it's un-likely to be easy work.
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00:00 This is the start of a challenging career that not everyone can withstand.
00:07 Yeah, I mean there's still, the retention rates I think are no good as well at the moment,
00:12 but it doesn't really affect us. I think we'll still go in and try and learn as much as we can.
00:16 They're fresh faced and eager, but they're joining a system in crisis, understaffed and overcrowded.
00:23 The work of our correctional officers is risky, it's hard, it's tough,
00:28 and people obviously don't like being in prison.
00:30 So every day they're in there making sure they monitor the safety, security, the intelligence
00:34 of what's going on inside those custodial facilities. They do a great job.
00:38 Understaffing and poor conditions are likely a contributing factor to recent riots in Alice Springs Prison.
00:45 We know that conditions in prison and overcrowded conditions can contribute to tension,
00:50 there's no doubt about that. That's well published around the world.
00:53 With prison populations at an all-time high and growing, the pressure on staff is only mounting.
01:00 The opposition say it's affecting prisoners' opportunities to take part in rehabilitative programs.
01:06 So that's a real reality of what happens in prison when we don't have enough staff.
01:10 People simply aren't undertaking those programs, and obviously when they come out they're the worse off for it.
01:16 Widespread recruitment campaigns have attracted people like these graduates to the job,
01:21 with NT Corrections receiving some 2,000 applications and hiring around 200 staff in the past year.
01:28 But the prisons, particularly Alice Springs, are still understaffed.
01:33 This is a difficult job. We have psychometric tests, we have educational tests, we have fitness tests,
01:39 and other aptitude tests as well. So those people who do apply, we put them through those processes.
01:44 But now the real challenge lies ahead.
01:47 We're going to be preparing for a very special occasion.
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