Corrections officers have been deployed from Darwin to the Alice Springs Correctional Centre as it continues to battle crippling staff shortages.
The NT United Workers Union said the 10 officers were sent to the centre amid fears it would have to stop visitations and programs for prisoners due to critical understaffing.
They arrived just days after NT Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley said workforce shortages at the Alice Springs centre were not at crisis levels.
Union secretary Erina Early said she had not before seen a deployment of so many officers in her 16 years with the organisation.
"Sometimes they'll send a couple of officers, but having a big group of officers together in one hit go down to another centre has never occurred," she said.
Calls for ongoing support
Northern Territory Correctional Services said the additional officers would stay for two weeks.
"We will continue to assess options for supporting Alice Springs Correctional Centre, noting that this comes at a staffing reduction to the Darwin Correctional Centre," a spokesperson said.
The workers' union said while the boost had been a "great relief" for burnt-out staff, they were calling for continued support until the centre was properly resourced.
"Now you've got that fear factor that they'll be in the same boat as they were a couple of weeks ago," Ms Early said.
"This needs to continue until they find adequate resourcing to actually provide the appropriate number of officers in Alice Springs."
Ms Early said many staff were feeling undervalued and unsafe at work.
She said it had sparked a mass exodus of guards from the centre, with 20 having left this year.
She said another 10 were expected to quit before Christmas.
Her union is calling for more incentives to attract workers to the region, including housing, flights and promotional opportunities.
Correctional services said it had regularly acknowledged there was a staff shortage in custodial operations, particularly in Alice Springs.
It said more than 60 new officers had been recruited across the Northern Territory since July.
"We have moved quickly to address that issue, including implementation of a rolling recruitment campaign and a new ... recruitment website," a spokesperson said.
Staff shortage increases risks
The union said the Alice Springs centre hadn't been fully staffed since it opened in 1996, with a current workforce shortfall of 28 rostered officers.
At times the centre has been down to half its minimum staffing requirements.
"The smallest number of officers that we're aware of at night time has been about seven," Ms Early said.
"And you need about 13 or 14 officers on a night shift.
"During the day, about 40 officers are required. But we've seen that go down to at least 20."
A range of safety measures such as stopping visits, shutting down programs or locking down prisoners can be implemented during staff shortages.
Ms Early said such actions took a toll on inmates.
"But if we don't have enough officers, unfortunately they're some of the risk mitigations we have to put in place," Ms Early said.
The union said guards were feeling tired and overworked, which was increasing risks for officers and prisoners.
"My greatest fear is that there could be riots, correctional officers could be severely assaulted, prisoners could get assaulted as well," Ms Early said.
"We shouldn't be waiting for something to happen.
"We should be dealing with the risk now."
