40 years of training Queensland's correctional officers
- Queensland Corrective Services Academy celebrates 40-year anniversary
- Former staff from Boggo Road Gaol joined current correctional officers to mark significant milestone in Queensland's history
Queensland Corrective Services has marked a significant milestone in its history as the agency's training academy celebrated 40 years of serving Queensland.
Since its beginning as the Queensland Prison Service Training and Development College in April 1986, the QCS Academy has played a critical role in preparing tens of thousands of correctional officers to manage prisoners and offenders across the state.
To mark the occasion, officers spanning the decades came together to share stories and celebrate the milestone.
Retired officers in their 80s and 90s from the former HM Prison Brisbane, also known as Boggo Road Gaol, were presented with medals by the Minister for Corrective Services Laura Gerber MP and QCS Commissioner Paul Stewart APM for their roles in laying the groundwork for the training that today's officers undertake.
QCS Commissioner Paul Stewart said the QCS Academy's 40-year milestone was an opportunity to honour the past and look ahead with confidence to the future.
"When the QCS Academy first began in 1986, the idea of structured training was very different from the modern learning methods and strong focus on safety, leadership and professionalism that we know today," Commissioner Stewart said.
"Over the past four decades, the training and development of correctional officers has grown from modest beginnings to an extraordinary facility that prepares our officers to make a real difference in by delivering rehabilitation and reform that reduces reoffending.
"We are proud to celebrate this occasion with some of Queensland's true pioneers of corrections who spent their careers at the old Boggo Road Gaol, where programs that were developed from the ground up remain part of our training today.
"As we celebrate our past and look confidently to the future, we acknowledge and appreciate everyone who has been involved and influenced our modern correctional training Academy."
Accredited as a Registered Training Organisation since 1995, all new custodial officers complete the Academy's intensive 10-week training program in tactical skills and conflict management.
The Academy also delivers Community Corrections case management training for case managers and probation services officers, as well as the training of security and drug detection dogs and their handlers.
Heritage items from the QCS archives, including old prison officer uniforms, communications equipment and logbooks, as well as photos of staff throughout the decades were also on display, illustrating the progress made to modernise correctional services in Queensland.
