Prisons Commissioner confirms: Full attendance at prisons

Acting Commissioner of Prisons Dane Clarke said while there was some tension and unease among prison officers, he was pleased to report that there was full attendance of staff at the nation's prisons this morning.

He said there were resources in place to treat with low staff turnout.

In an interview on I95.5FM, Clarke said while he understood officers were poorly motivated in light of the murders of Supt Wayne Jackson and prison officer Darren Francis, he was told that there was near full attendance. While there were corrupt prison officers in the service, he said, criticism by the public was unnecessary and described it as victim blaming.

"Over the past few years, we have been making very serious attempts to get them (corrupt officers) out of the system. Officers have been charged and taken to court.

"Its a continuing challenge for the administration in dealing with these corrupt officers, however, most of the officers who were killed in the line of duty over the past years, cannot be seen as corrupt officers. They were just doing their jobs and were victims of a band of persons who wanted things their own way."

Asked about any updates in the investigation of Francis' murder, Clarke said he received information that the killing was linked to an incident involving an inmate, but could not give any further details.