A former Port Augusta prison officer who was assaulted by a colleague has slammed the Department for Correctional Services, saying she has grave fears for those left working at the facility.
Craig Norman Campbell, 48, was convicted on a good behaviour bond and ordered to pay legal costs in the Port Augusta Magistrates Court in October 2022 for three counts of assault against three former colleagues.
His charges related to offences committed after a work Christmas party in December 2018 at the Barracks Complex.
Campbell was initially charged with five counts of indecent assault, but the charges were later downgraded to three counts of common assault.
All three victims were aged in their 20s and resigned from their positions as prison officers after the incident.
Campbell was formally suspended from his position by the Department for Correctional Services (DCS) in July 2021, six months after he was charged by police.
When contacted about the employment status of Campbell following his conviction, a DCS spokesperson said Campbell had resigned.
"Under the Public Sector Act, the chief executive still has the ability to make a finding of misconduct following a resignation," the spokesperson said.
The internal review into whether Campbell committed misconduct from DCS will be complete in the coming weeks.
The DCS spokesperson said the resignation did not improve the chances of re-employment by DCS.
"The public sector has an Eligibility for Re-employment Register, which contains data including resignations by an employee from their employment when suspected or alleged to have committed misconduct," they said.
'Blue shirt code' hasn't changed, victim says
One of the victims of the assault, who did not want to be identified, said she was pleased to hear her assailant had been convicted, however she remained fearful for employees at DCS.
"I know we got our message out and I know Craig has obviously resigned now and has those charges so that's a win in that aspect, but it doesn't feel like DCS has learnt anything," she said.
The victim said she was taught to adhere to the "blue shirt code", which meant you should not rat out other colleagues even if they were doing the wrong thing.
"People are still not going to go to them [DCS] to complain in the first place because that fear to report is still there, because the bullying and harassment is still happening, the blue shirt code is still happening," she said.
"Until people start reporting officers for doing the wrong thing it's just facilitating this behaviour."
The victim still holds fear for people who work at the Port Augusta prison.
"As much as I want to put it all behind me, it's still something that, in my gut, I can never fully let go of in the sense of I just worry about who is going to be the next victim to that place, and whose life is going to be destroyed," she said.
"It does feel like I've been fighting a battle that no-one wants to hear about, so it gets a bit tiring after a while."
A departmental spokesperson said DCS expected the highest standards of behaviour from all staff.
"Where there has been an alleged breach of the Code of Ethics, the department actively investigates and, if a breach is proven, takes action," the spokesperson said.
"The overwhelming majority of DCS staff are passionate and committed."
They said DCS welcomed the ICAC review into prisons in SA in 2021 and continued to work on the 24 recommendations from it, but declined to answer how many it had implemented.
