Stabbing of Department of Corrections staff member at Whanganui office prompts security review

An assault at Whanganui Community Corrections on April 9 left a staff member critically injured. Photo / Eva de Jong

The Department of Corrections will review staff safety measures after a stabbing at Whanganui Community Corrections.

A staff member was critically injured during an assault at the Wilson St service centre about 10am on April 9.

A man has been charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm by stabbing.

Glenn Morrison, Department of Corrections communities, partnerships and pathways director, said staff showed extreme bravery in subduing the alleged offender until police arrived and performing first aid on their colleague while waiting for the ambulance.

Corrections is reviewing the incident, including looking at existing measures to ensure staff safety.

A former probation officer at the Wilson St offices, who the Whanganui Chronicle has agreed not to name, said it was “an incident waiting to happen”.

She said she felt unsafe due to a lack of security at the office site. Unlike courts, there were no metal detectors or security guards where staff regularly met offenders.

The ex-officer hoped a formal review could bring additional security measures.

Morrison said they could confirm that the Whanganui Community Corrections site had CCTV, but for security reasons, could not detail all the security measures in place.

“We have robust processes in place which include extensive training for our staff on keeping safe at work, physical security features, and technological security features which enable staff to quickly activate a call for urgent assistance,” Morrison said.

Morrison said Corrections took the safety and wellbeing of all staff extremely seriously.

“The reality of our environments and the people we manage means the risk of violence is something we cannot eliminate.

“However, we are committed to learning from the incident last week to identify additional steps we should take to keep our Community Corrections staff safe.

“Every single one of our staff deserves to feel safe and to go home to their loved ones each day.”

Home visit safety concerns

Probation officers work with people serving community-based sentences and help to rehabilitate recently released prisoners.

The ex-officer said she was concerned about inadequate protection when making home visits to offenders.

Morrison said community staff completed on-the-job training around how to keep themselves safe, which included strategies around de-escalation and environmental risks to consider.

He said all sites had a process to account for all staff on home visits, including technological security features which enable them to quickly activate a call for urgent assistance.

“Two staff attend home visits, so there is an additional person to support the environmental assessment while the other is engaging with the person.

“If there are risks or safety concerns, the staff shouldn’t conduct the home visit.”

Man charged with stabbing

A 25-year-old man appeared in Whanganui District Court on April 10 charged with wounding with intent to cause grievous bodily harm.

The defendant was granted interim name suppression and remanded without plea until his next appearance.

The duty lawyer said psychiatric reports were “likely to be ordered” under the Mentally Impaired Persons Act.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.