Evaluation of the Practices, Policies and Procedures of the Department for Correctional Services Published June 2021

Evaluation of the Practices, Policies & Procedures of the Department for Correctional Services ICAC (SA) Evaluation of the Practices, Policies and Procedures of the Department for Correctional Services Published June 2021 Level 1, 55 Currie Street Adelaide SA 5000 (08) 8463 5173 GPO Box 11066 Adelaide SA 5001 icac.sa.gov.au 1 DEPARTMENT FOR CORRECTIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT POLICIES & PROCEDURES OF THE OF THE PRACTICES, EVALUATION Contents LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL 4 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 RECOMMENDATIONS 10 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION 14 Scope of the evaluation 15 Public inquiry 16 This report 16 The process 17 Impact of COVID 19 and other factors 18 Report quotations 18 CHAPTER TWO: INQUIRIES AND RESEARCH IN PRISON ENVIRONMENTS 20 The South Australian Ombudsman 20 Other jurisdictions 22 CHAPTER THREE: DEPARTMENT BACKGROUND 26 The unique integrity risks associated with a custodial environment 29 Complaints and reports received by the Office for Public Integrity 31 Matters assessed as corruption 32 Results of the 2018 Public Integrity Survey 32 Integrity Framework 33 Code of Ethics for the South Australian Public Sector 33 The Department’s policies and procedures to promote integrity 34 CHAPTER FOUR: EVALUATION SURVEY 38 Introduction 38 The survey 38 Survey data 38 Respondents 39 Policy and procedure 40 Records management 42 The Code of Ethics 43 Corruption, misconduct and maladministration 43 Reporting 50 Culture 52 Support 53 Summary 54 2 CHAPTER FIVE: CULTURE 56 Resistance to change 57 Blue-shirt code 58 Sense of entitlement 60 Attitudes and behaviours affecting morale 61 Bullying and harassment 62 Role of leadership in influencing workplace culture 64 The perception of leadership at the Department 68 Dealing with poor behaviour 69 CHAPTER SIX: POLICY FRAMEWORK 72 DEPARTMENT FOR CORRECTIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT Introduction 72 Policy life-cycle 73 Executive Instructions 75 The effectiveness of the Department’s policies 77 CHAPTER SEVEN: INFORMATION MANAGEMENT 82 EVALUATION OF THE PRACTICES, POLICIES & PROCEDURES OF THE OF THE PRACTICES, EVALUATION CHAPTER EIGHT: THE INTEGRITY RISKS OF A CUSTODIAL ENVIRONMENT 88 Integrity Framework 88 Grooming and inappropriate relationships 91 The beginnings of an inappropriate relationship (grooming) 92 Illicit drug use amongst staff 93 Conflicts of interest and associations 93 Managing the risks of grooming and inappropriate relationships 96 Grooming education 96 Support to manage grooming and inappropriate relationships 97 Rotating staff to further manage the risks of grooming 99 Contraband 100 How does contraband enter prisons? 101 Observing and reporting contraband in prisons 102 Reducing the introduction of contraband 103 Staff and visitors 103 Access control training 106 Prisoner mail 107 Electronic surveillance 109 Effectiveness of cameras 110 Retention of video and audio recordings 111 Body-worn cameras 112 Adding audio recording to existing CCTV 115 Recent or intended improvements to surveillance 116 3 DEPARTMENT FOR CORRECTIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT POLICIES & PROCEDURES OF THE OF THE PRACTICES, EVALUATION CHAPTER NINE: REPORTING CULTURE 118 The perceived consequences of reporting 119 Confidence in the process 121 Impartiality 123 Confidentiality 125 Support for staff making a report 126 CHAPTER TEN: RECRUITMENT 128 Attracting the right people 128 The recruitment process 130 Training for staff involved in recruitment processes 132 CHAPTER ELEVEN: TRAINING 134 Improvements to training and development 135 Leadership and management skills 135 Grooming 136 Low rates of attendance at mandatory training 137 Addressing non-attendance 139 CHAPTER TWELVE: PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT 142 Participation in performance development plans 143 Role of supervisors 145 Management of poor behaviour 147 Barriers to addressing poor performance 150 Mechanisms to address unsatisfactory performance and misconduct 151 Support for managers to manage performance 152 Performance history 153 Systems and information 154 CHAPTER THIRTEEN: SICK LEAVE AND ROSTERS 156 Sick leave and overtime 157 Managing high levels of sick leave and overtime 158 Initiatives to improve rostering 161 CHAPTER FOURTEEN: CONCLUSION 164 APPENDICES 166 Appendix 1: Public Statement – 3 February 2020 166 Appendix 2: Response of the Department for Correctional Services 168 Appendix 3: Recommendations Response Plan of the Department for Correctional Services 171 Appendix 4: Exhibit List 174 4 Letter of Transmittal The Honourable Joshua Teague MP Speaker of the House of Assembly The Honourable John Dawkins ADFM MLC President of the Legislative Council In accordance with sections 40(3) and 41(2) of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Act 2012 (SA) I present the report of my evaluation of the practices, policies and procedures of the Chief Executive of the Department for Correctional DEPARTMENT FOR CORRECTIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT Services. Sections 40(4) and 41(3) of the Independent Commissioner Against Corruption Act 2012 (SA) require that you lay the report before your House of Parliament on the first sitting day after receiving it. Yours sincerely EVALUATION OF THE PRACTICES, POLICIES & PROCEDURES OF THE OF THE PRACTICES, EVALUATION Michael Riches Deputy Independent Commissioner Against Corruption 23 June 2021 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 6 Executive Summary The Department for Correctional Services (the Department) is responsible for the delivery of a range of custodial and non-custodial services, most notably the management of state government prisons and the care and custody of individuals sentenced to periods of incarceration. Managing and working in a prison environment is extraordinarily dynamic and complex. Prisons are by their nature closed environments. Little is published about the day-to-day complexities faced by prison staff. Those who work in prisons ought to be recognised for their work managing such environments. Of course, the nature of the prison environment is such that opportunities to engage in corruption are plentiful. The potential for staff to participate in the introduction DEPARTMENT FOR CORRECTIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT of contraband, the improper access to and disclosure of confidential information, assaults on prisoners and the formation of, and engagement in, inappropriate relationships with prisoners is ever present. Indeed, the current and former Independent Commissioners Against Corruption have commenced more corruption investigations in respect of staff within prisons (both EVALUATION OF THE PRACTICES, POLICIES & PROCEDURES OF THE OF THE PRACTICES, EVALUATION publicly and privately operated) than in respect of staff in any other public agency. This report is the consequence of my decision to evaluate the practices, policies and procedures of the Chief Executive of the Department. The Chief Executive is ultimately responsible for the practices, policies and procedures of the Department. I will explain in this report why I decided to conduct the evaluation, together with my observations and some recommendations that I hope will assist the Chief Executive in discharging his responsibility to minimise the risks of corruption and to promote integrity within his department. The evaluation has focused primarily on the corruption and integrity risks inherent in prison environments, together with some aspects of departmental practice. While I had considered extending the evaluation to other aspects of the Chief Executive’s remit, such as community corrections, I decided to remain focused on the custodial environment. Nevertheless, many of the observations I have made, and some of my recommendations, will be relevant to community corrections. I have little doubt that the majority of staff are dedicated, hard-working and genuinely committed to their duties. Indeed a great many staff contributed to this evaluation. Their contribution has largely shaped the content of this report. I acknowledge and thank the Chief Executive and his executive staff, including the general managers of prisons, for their openness and cooperation throughout this evaluation. I thank all of the staff who participated either through the evaluation survey, face to face interviews or written submissions. A number of challenges arose in the course of this evaluation, most notably the COVID-19 pandemic. Despite the delays and challenges occasioned by COVID-19 restrictions, I was pleased with the cooperation given to my team and me. Before briefly summarising my observations I thought it important to make some preliminary points. 7 DEPARTMENT FOR CORRECTIONAL SERVICES DEPARTMENT POLICIES & PROCEDURES OF THE OF THE PRACTICES, EVALUATION First, I am aware that the Department is not infrequently the subject of discussion and, at times, dispute in respect of industrial arrangements. Some initiatives, such as the Better Prisons Program, have drawn a range of views about its impact upon staffing and services. I received a number of suggestions about reshaping the industrial landscape, including the development of a corrections specific legislative employment regime and amending the processes for dealing with misconduct. I received some comments in respect of the public versus private debate about the delivery of prison services. It is neither necessary nor appropriate for me to express a view on those matters. Issues of an industrial nature are often far more complex than they appear and, while some of the observations and recommendations I make in this report will require consideration from an industrial perspective, the delivery of services is ultimately a matter

Load more