STUFF Kelvin Davis says prisoners damaged property worth hundreds of thousands of dollars and risked the lives of staff and themselves. Prison staff say they’re effectively banned from defending themselves from increasing violence from inmates, leaving some fearing for their lives. One Corrections officer, who works with some of the country's most violent criminals and spoke on the condition of anonymity, said he and his colleagues endured violence about two to three times per week. “We are not allowed to do anything to defend ourselves. We can’t be proactive, so if a prisoner is behaving aggressively, we can’t assume that he’s going to try to hit us. We have to wait until he does hit us.”