MORE BAD DECISIONS FROM NEW SOUTH WALES
CORRECTIVE SERVICES COMMISSION
Jason Wattie is a Senior Correctional Officer (SCO). For those who may not know, a Senior Correctional
Officer wears three stripes and is the equivalent to a Sergeant in any other
uniformed service such as the Police or Military. It is my view that a Senior Correctional
Officer is a highly respected and sought after rank within the New South Wales
Corrective Services.
SCO Jason Wattie was suspended from duty in January 2015 as a result of
allegations that he used excessive force against a prisoner at the Amber Laurel
Correctional Centre at Emu Plains. The
Centre was designed to hold 56 prisoners who had been refused bail and replaces
Police lock-up’s in surrounding districts, yet is manned by Prison Officers
rather than Police.
The matter concerning the allegations of excessive use of force, were
heard in a court. It seems to me that
the court hearings ended favourably for SPO Wattie, although I have no
confirmation of that. Regardless of the
result, the Department in their vindictive, malicious and soul crushing manner
chose to dismiss SCO Wattie on 13th May 2016. In June 2016, the Public Service Association
(PSA), the union representing New South Wales Correctional Officers, appealed
to the Industrial Relations Commission (IRC) for unfair dismissal. The IRC ordered the Department of Corrective
Services to reinstate SCO Wattie on 18th October 2016. The Department of Corrective Services in their
arrogance refused to reinstate SCO Wattie and appealed to the Full Bench of the
IRC. On 28th February 2017
the IRC denied the Leave to Appeal, resulting in SCO Wattie being allowed to
don his uniform and return to his normal duties. On 30th November 2017, the unforgiving
and revengeful Department of Corrective Services decided to pursue SCO Wattie
to the Supreme Court of Appeal.
Subsequently, the Department won on this occasion and sacked SCO Wattie. However on 20th December 2017, the
PSA sought Leave to Appeal in order to appeal the decision that occurred some
three weeks earlier. The PSA was
granted a stay in the proceedings and again SCO Wattie was reinstated to duty. On 28th February 2018, the final
appeal was heard in the Supreme Court.
The decision from that hearing was not handed down until June 2018. The splendid results were that SCO Jason
Wattie won the appeal and his full costs.
The decision by the Department of Corrective Services Commission to
pursue this Officer in such a ruthless and spiteful manner shows a real lack of
common sense and demonstrates how they are extremely willing to waste the tax
payer’s money. I do not know the real
figure that the Department had to pay to pursue SCO Wattie. I can only imagine the amount would be
several hundreds of thousands of dollars. That amount
of money simply does not make good business sense. If they were genuinely concerned, they could
have spent a few hundred dollars on some re-training if that was considered
necessary.
Being a Correctional Officer is not an easy task. There is no mention of the actual incident in
the article that I have read concerning this matter, however I am aware that
prisoners that have newly been arrested and taken to a holding centre such as
Amber Laurel Correctional Centre are often under the influence of drugs and/or
alcohol, may suffer from mental illnesses and can quite often be very
violent. A ‘Use of Force’ by Prison
Officers unfortunately is a common event.
It goes with the territory, yet prisoners must be controlled and often
have to be restrained. In those cases
the Officers are protected by the Prisons Act to do so. The Administration being the New South Wales
Department of Corrective Services Commission, must do all they can to support
their Officers instead of ruthlessly pursuing them over matters such as this
which has thrown SCO Wattie’s and that of his family, into total chaos. I have no doubt that he will find it
difficult in obtaining promotion within the immediate and near future.
Had the Commission supported SCO Wattie and others in similar situations,
they may find that moral within their Department would rise considerably.
Original article courtesy of PSA Red Tape magazine.
Original article courtesy of PSA Red Tape magazine.
This I believe.
Peter T. Egge
