Residential is the same as General population it consistof apartment styled blocks set out with 3 blocks to a cluster and at the particular prison I was in there where three clusters each cluster has a cluster office where the Guards are stationed the entire residential compound is covered by video cameras.

A single block contains 4 units and each unit houses 6 inmate cells.
Inside the inmates cell there is a bed, a average cubby area with approximatly 9 cubby holes to store clothing, toiletries and other personal effects, there is a desk and a swivel mounted seat a television (if paid for) and a window.
Inmates are issued three sets of pants (two sets of trackies and one pair of trousers) 3 track shirts, 3 T-shirts, Three pairs of shorts, 3 pairs of socks, a pair of thongs, and a pair of running shoes and a dirty clothes bag.

Inside the unit there is a fridge, toaster, microwave,storage space for plates, bowls saucers,and eating utensils(all which are plastic).There is also a laundry area in each unit with a washer and dryer which is usually located in the bathroom area there are three toilets and three showers.windows in the bathrooms have vent space to allow fresh air into the bathroom facilities.The floors in the bathroom are grained for slip resistance.There is also a day area a in each unit in the day area there are two steel benches a wall mounted television table, 21inch television, and a cubby space for storing newspapers board and card games.

Inamtes are not allowed inside units that they do not reside in if caught they can be punished. Inmates aren't allowed to have lighters or matches. and as smoking is prohibited inside the units cigarette lighters are mounted on the walls at the or near the cluster office
Inmates may rent a television for their cell at a price of 2 dollars a week.

The day starts with a wakeup call at 6:20 am

This allows you time to get up make your bed, shower, dress, eat breakfast which generally consist of one of two cereals (which are provided in bulk to the unit in bulk each week)Corn Flakes or Rice Crispies. toast (each nite at dinner fresh bread is delivered to the units) which you have a choice between white, wheat, or wholegrain. and a juice or milk each inmate is allocated 600 ml of milk per day and 125ml of juice per day.
Unfortunately smoking is prohibited inside the unit as smoking is banned in all government facilities.
7:20 am Inmates are required to stand outside their cell doors for muster, basically this means that the guards come around to each unit and do a head count (inmates will not be allowed to leave the unit until headcount is completed and correct.)

7:30 amUnlock prisoners who require medication report the the resdiential movment station for there medication. Whilst those who work, which is probably 95 percent of inmates in the residental or general population, because its mandatory to work, study or participate in programs designated by the sentence managment team in order to remain in residential population. Metal shop, Wood shop, Kitchen, and Landscaping workers report to Residential Movement station to await their Technical instructors who will escort them to their relevant work areas.

8:30 Persons who work in cleaning, inmate reception, administration (clerk positions and Librarians), and workers for the Aboriginal Spiritual Centre report to Residential Movement station and await clearance for movement to their places of employment these workers due to their job classification and risk assessment rarely have an escort to their work places.

Those who are new to residential are required to fill out job application forms and are allowed 3 choices of areas the would like to work. they must turn in these applications are then assessed by the risk managment and Technical instructors to find appropriate job placement. once the applications have been assessed the new inmates are then interviewed for positions that have been deemed suitable. the interview is more or less to give the Technical instructors an idea of past employment history and expeiriance.

But until the applications are assessed the new inmates are required to do general cleaning duties withing the residential complex such as cleaning thier units, sweeping pathways, hosing down pathways, etc. and they will be required to do this until either they undertake employment or study.

12:15 pm All Inmates with the exception of required kitchen staff , are rquired to return to the residential compound for muster (head count).

12:30 pm Lunch which 5 days a week consitsts of sandwich meat, salad and occasionally cheese. On these days obviously the lunch is a do it yourself sandwhich. 2 days of the week hot lunches are served which usualy consist of meat pies or stew.

1:00 pm Inmates enrolled in education, computers, mandatory programs, Tutors and Librarians report to movement control to attend there courses and or jobs at the education BlockIn some prisons inmates only work half days to leave available the afternoons for programs study recreation or hobby classes. Other prisons work full days and those required to attend mandatory programs are the given exception to the full day work regime.

4:45 pm All inmates with the exception of required kitchen staff must return to the residential compound for muster (head count).

5:00 pm Dinner Dinner is based on a weekly menu which is created by the Kithchen Technical Instructor which is supposed to be mandated by the a pre defined Dietary recommendation.

After dinner inmates are free to browse the residential compound within the limits set out by the Residential Supervisor.There are phones available for inmates to make calls on .
Prisons have set up a phone system by which the inmates can allocate money weekly into a private phone account specifically for the use of the phones or visitors may deposit money into the phone accounts on visitation days. An inmate is asked upon reception to the prison who they would like to have on their phone list the inmates provide the names of who they wish to call and the phone number. This information is sent to intel where they actually contact each person and ask if they wish to recieve calls from the inmate. after the list is confirmed and the phone account is set up an inmate may begin using the phone .

To do so the inmate selects the person they wish to call (each person on the list is allocated a number 1,2,3,4,5, etc)
by presing the corresponding number on the phone then the inmate is prompted to enter a four digit number preallocated to the prisoner usually this number is the last 4 digits of there identification number which they are given upon reception into the prison. after that the phone will dial the number and upon the other party answering a recorded message will play notifiying the receiver of the call that the call is comming from a correctional facility and that the call is being recorded as well it warns that they are not allowed to transfer forward or undertake 3 way calling. then the timer start and the inmate can proceed with his phone conversation in residential a prisoner is allowed 12 min per call and after the call they must either go to another phone or wait 3 minutes to use the same phone again.

6.30pm Lockdown. All inmates are required to be in there units standing in front of there cell doors for final count.
7pm residential inmates video starts, selected by the inmates.
Guards make rounds every 2 hours checking to make sure all inmates are in there unit. After lockdown, inmates are free to play games, watch tv, write letters, etc.

Inmates are allowed to spend up to a $100 a week on buy ups at canteen. Inmates can request permission to make outside purchases, such as play stations, computers, magazines, etc.
If you have any questions, feel free to ask.

Corry,
First, thanks a lot for sharing this information! It's the first of its kind about Australian prison that I have seen so it is much appreciated and I am sure you will have a great many people reading this enthusiastically in the future to see what it is like there vs. in the U.S.

I do have a couple of questions..

1) ARE YOU SERIOUS ABOUT BEING ABLE TO PURCHASE A COMPUTER? Ok.. Sorry for shouting but if I could have purchased a friggen laptop while I was in prison I would have been pretty well set.. What are the requirements with regards to purchasing a computer? Do they let you keep it in your cell if they approve you? Are there price restrictions or types of computers?

2) Is there any type of Internet access given to prisoners, either in educational computer classes or by other means?

3) Do the prisons have air conditioning?

4) How are the visits? Through glass or are they contact? Do they have family or "conjugal" visits?

5) How much do the phone calls cost? Per call, per minute or however they bill?

Ok.. That is what comes to mind right away.. I am really bowled over about being able to purchase play stations and computers. Personally, I think someone that has any experience with computers could REALLY advance quickly in a number of IT / Desgin fields if they had a computer to work with. I got a complete MCSE training kit and Cisco CNE cert. books sent in but they trashed the disks and of course it was all reading and no hands on, which really hampered in-depth learning as I am sure you could imagine. Also, in the feds, they are major paranoids about "macros" and anything datbase related. I helped teach a MS Office class and they left out the Access part because they actually were worried about it.. This was on a completely (physically) isolated network of about 16 computers running an old version of NT. Pretty lame but they tripped all the time and eyeballed us almost constantly, as if we could break into the BOP computer and release everyone. It was laughable but sad..

Look forward to hearing more from you!
Thanks a lot,
David

*Stickied* for obvious reasons :)

This may seem a strange question to you, and anyone in the US, but do you have armed guards where you are? I remember the prison in Brisbane had armed guards in towers around it. I ask because NO prison in England has guns, much the same as very few of our police are armed, and I've always thought that guns aren't necessary.

Rose

Most U.S. prisons that have towers have guards with guns in them. No guards on the "yard" have guns in case there is a takeover. They feel the towers are safe and a good place to shoot inmates from here in the U.S., with the exception (maybe) now of Arizona that recently had one of its towers taken over in a hostage standoff. (fortunately, nobody was killed)

Corry

Thanks for sharing this with us.

2 questions:

are the cells single ones or not ??

what time is lights out ??

Thanks
Phil

Fed-X,

Well to answer your questions :

1.) Yes you can seriously purchase a computer via an outside purchase with the approval of the General Manager AKA the Wardon. The process involved and the requirements are as follows:

In order to purchase a computer (desktop or laptop) via outside purchase an inmate may make a written request to the General Manager providing that the inmate has the funds. If the inmate does not have the funds and they have a friend or family member willing to deposit money the inmate must file a request to exceed the weekly trust account limit of $100.00 describing what the funds will be used for. If the inmate request to exceed the weekly trust account limit is approved then the inmate may request an outside purchase.In this case the inmate must provide the approved request to exceed the monthly trust account limit with the request to purchase a computer. If the request is approved the inmate may choose a computer from a designated supplier. This does not impede on the quality or function of the computer.
The pricing on computers is only dictated by the supplier if an inmate has the funds he can pretty much purchase any computer however there are restrictions on periferials such as scanners camera's etc. generaly the only periferial allowed are printer speakers keyboard and mouse.

As far as internet access the inmates are not allowed any form of internet access .The prison I was in was fairly new it allowed computer access for the purpose education they provided courses in MS Office, Db stuctures and of course inmates could order their own cirriculum from universites or Education providers. As well if an inmate owns his own computer he can order Trainning such as MCSE, CNE, CNA, Linux, Programming etc to undertake self training courses the inmate has to speak with the education officers to arrange the ordering and supply of materials. Inmates can have CD's and CD players.

Air Conditioning, yes australian prisons are heated and airconditioned. in the day rooms as well as in the independent cells. In workshops industrial exhaust fans are used to cool the working areas.

Visits, Initially all inmates go through a period of non -contact visits where they are seperated by large metal and glass partitions that span from the floor to the ceiling. These visitationsession are recorded via audio.

This is due to the Department of Corrections requirement that all visitors must have a police check completed. So all visitors with the exception of children are required to complete a form at the prison which the prison then sends off to the Police service. Upon reciept of the results of the police check Prison Intell then assess the risk of each visitor eg trafficing drugs or weapons into the prison. Generally if the visitor does not have a criminal record then contact visits may be approved but the inmates behaviour and any infringements may impact on contact visits and on occassion impact on visits all together.

Contact visits start with a breif kissing/ hugging period then there is no physical contact allowed children aren't allowed to set on dads lap etc babys are the exception. the visit area has drink and snack machines these machine only accept tokens that the inmate must purchase during his weekly buy up. Family members are not allowed to bring in any money cigarettes or other personal items and the same for inamates. notes and other effects such and pictures etc are prohibited at visits. Smoking is also prohibited in some prison visitation areas where I was at it was non smoking. Visits where usually about 2 1/2 hours inmates are strip searched before and after visits. contact visits are monitored and recorded on video. as well as haveing guards patrol the visit area.

phone calls local calls are 40 cents and lond distance calls are charged at standard long distance rates by the minute.

I hope this fills in the blanks for you

:) corry

No most Australian prisons are moving to unarmed , crossed trained guards who are guards/ counselors so the concept is to reason with the inmate and avoid physical confrontation. But don't be fooled these guards are well trained and are very large individuals bigger than 80 percent of the inmates and several have backgrounds in the military or police service. they do have a hummvee patrol that patrols the perimeter of the prison after 6 pm

hope I have answered your question

Hi phil well the cells are single but they aren't locked unless you want to lock them you are actually given the key to your cell. so whatever you wish to doo in the cell weather it be having another inmate from your unit sit in your cell with you and have a coffe play cards watch TV or other things. the key you are given to your cell does not open the unit door that allows access to the residential compound so you can't get out but there are 6 inmates who live together in a group setting where trust and friendship become very important.

As far as lights out believe it or not where I was at there was no such thing as long as you were able to get up and perform your job and participate in activities you can stay up all night writing drawing watching television etc

I think I covered your questions have any more feel free to ask


Corry

Corry, thanks and yes you answered my questions, but now I have another one !! :p

What is a "hummvee patrol" ???? :confused:

Phil

a humvee patrol is a six wheel armoured vehicle that patrols the outer perimeter of the prison after dark and it has two armed guards.

another quick note australian prisons have drug squads and K-9 patrols so when the do a cell search they bring in the dogs and well something I failed to mention before was at the prison I was in there were no towers ;)

so there ya go a little more info.

Corry

BTW thanks for the welcom phil

You forgot to mention at visits, what I called the grope session. At the beginning of visits, when the prisoners come out, you are allowed to hug and kiss for 5 mins, then they announce visits have began, then in the end, they announce, 5 mins till the end of visits, and then you can huge and kiss for another 5 mins. I never knew which way to look, and started calling it the grope session. Some young women were really full on, but anyway, that was the rules. You could hold hands during visits and talk, but not kiss, and you cant sit directly near each other.
So, if you kissed and cuddled outside of the "groping" session, you risked your visits.

I've found all of this so interesting and I'm going to print it out to send Tony. I really think Australia could show us all how to run our prisons, and I include Britain in that as we have our fair share of tough, over the top, prisons. Thank you, Corry.

Phil - If you'd been a part of the Peace Movement over here a few years ago you'd know exactly what a Humvee was. We had them out protecting the Cruise Missiles from us!!

Rose

Rose
I dont think prison life is that great at all, but I know of men here, that go for parol, and say they dont want to leave, they get a bed, three meals a day and a job. I know people that have been released as well, and re offend, as they say life in our prison system is better, cause there friends are there and they have no one on the outside. It still isnt a very nice place to be, by stating this, especially those that have jobs, friends and loved ones on the outside.
I just thought of something to. At visits, they put disney movies on for the kids, and have a play area, with a shut gate, that they can play in as well, with books and swings, etc. They were building BBQs to, so people can keep the kids in a family type enviroment, behind those walls.
As I said, not perfect, there is strict rules to follow, but they have thought it through as well.

It sounds pretty amazing! The only thing that is more strict is video taping of visits and audio taping of non contact visits. I visited my guy at a max, in seg, and there were no cameras, no audio taping, and although it was behind glass, we could talk privately for the first time. You coudn't see the other people and there really was a lot of privacy, unlike the visiting room.

Thanks Corry, I really enjoyed your description of day to day life in an Australian Prison.
I have to admit that it is the first insight I have been given into our own prisons, and in comparison to other prisons I have read about (eg Texas) is seems very humane.
May I ask...do you feel the prison system here (in Australia) is designed to rehabilitate? If so, what methods are used?
Thanks Corry :)

Kezcat the answer to that questionis not a simple one. Whilst I was in prison through discussion with other inmates and the Screws (staff). because I like to be informed on both sides of the fight so to speak, I gathered that Australian prisons were not so much different to U.S. prisons with they're "crash and bash method or militia like control over inmates. I out of shear luck landed in Maryborough Correctional Facility not to far from home. This occured due to some persuasion of my solicitor(attorney).

Anyhow Maryborough Correctional Facility was and is meant to be the new direction Australian prisons will be modeled after. The plan is to :
1. Eliminated the sale, distribution and use of drugs in the prison environment.

2. Train, or retrain inmates in fields such as landscaping, horticulture, metal works,(welding, cutting, grinding, Fabrication and general mechanical basics), Wood works (carpentry, machinery, Fabrication, hand tools, power tools general shop maintenance), Food Service (preperation, recipes, ingredients, cleaning, presentation, and serving) and ultimately how to function as a team and resolve disputes through a set resolution process. The areas though limited would ensure that the inmate would have desirable skills for employment, a certificate of apprenticship or training completion, and hopefuly the desire for the inmate to take a more responsible role in the community by becoming employed and maintaining a position in an industry.

3.Educate inmates who have the desire to further their education in preperation for University, or allow inmates to become enrolled in Tafe and or University programs that would allow them to leave prison with a diploma or degree. In hopes that the benifit of education and the skills they have learned would inspire inmates to become active in the workforce and continue to better themselves.

4. Reprograming as I call it. Each inmate has generally at least one area wether it be drug abuse, dink driving, violence, etc that is reflective of their offence or offences.
So the prison has created programs such as anger managment, drug and alchohol rehabilitation, cognitive behavior therapy, to list a few. Each new inmate is assessed upon entry into the residential compound and according to their offences they are assigned manditory programs which may include several programs whilst others may be assessed not to have to complete any.

5. The days are structured to accomidate work, programs, education and liesure activities such as hobby classes like pottery or leather works, or a fenced game of short field cricket or tennis, maybe basketball, footie (no contact of course), or just some exercise.

6. Letter writing, visits and phone calls are encourage but also viewed as privaledges.
So that by behaving in a manner that is appropriate you are allowed all these privaledges if you can not act accordinly in some instances warning are effective enough whilst other times an immediate punishment is required. For example if your talking during muster or headcount you will be warned not to speak or move out of line during muster or headcount. three warnings and you still do not comply will get you placed in the DU a detention unit you loose all privaledges including smoking you have hygene requirements linen and clothing maybe a book but nothing more no phone no television nothing but 4 walls and a door. on the other hand if you continually violate you will be sent to a secure unit and life there is another story that I can tell you all about in another post but its not where you want to be.

So yes I believe that the prisons systems in Australia are moving toward a more positive effective methodology one of rehabilitation, and treatment. There are areas still lacking such as medical facilities, mental health staff and facilities. But truth be known I knew most of the screws by their first name and they responded by calling me by my prefered name so its also about moving towards a boundary of mutual respect as human beings as well as instilling some self respect into inmates so that when they leave they have a better chance of not reoffending.

I know long drawn out but I could write for days on my expieriance in prison.
hope I have answered your question ..

Corry

Corry, thank you so much for your reply. I appreciate your taking time out to explain things to me.

I really enjoyed your posts, many thanks. :)

Thank you Cory for at last bringing this to an international forum. I am curious though, can you tell me which prison you were in? I used to visit a friend in a prison is Ipswich Queensland and it was very strict and he was there for a minor offence.

It sounds like like you were at a "newer" prison. When you mentioned air conditioning I knew it must have been a newer facitility.

So you are free now? I hope everything is going well for you.

I would very much like your thoughts on a 60 Minutes program I saw a while ago now. I'll put you in the picture.
It was after a young Muslim kid was sentenced to life after raping two or more young Australian women in Sydney and encouraging his friends to do the same. His defence was that as a Muslim he had the right, it was part of his relgion and his family agreed with him, including his mother. Anyway, he was sent to the new Super Super Max prison which was built within Goulburn Jail and it was designed to house any terrorists that may be caught in this country. Each cell contains only one inmate and there is a camera in each cell to monitor every inmate. The shower is controlled by the guards and only 3 minutes is allowed for a shower. The first thing I thought of was if you have been bad they will wait until you soap up and then cut off the water.

One of the reasons I am saying all of this is as much as I am very happy that our overseas friends now know so much more about our system, I also want them to know that not all prisons here allow computers or are air conditoned.

I would appreciate your thoughts Cory
Grevillia

I'm kinda wondering why Corry has not responded to my post and it's been almost a week. Maybe he is busy.

Grevillia
He hasnt been on the computer his darling wife ( me) has been on here :). He has also had a bad week, but I will make sure he comes back and posts to you tonight or tomorrow.

There is a State that also allowd them to have a play station, or it may have been the hand held ones. I cant remeber where I seen that post at, it may have been here. it blew me away.

Thanks Kyla, I didn't know Cory was your husband. I hope he is ok. I really would like his thoughts though.

Hello Grevillia,

Well that’s an interesting take on the prison system and informative. I do not take a position against the cultural or religious beliefs of others; I would say on the contrary that I encourage people to follow their hearts and what they believe in spiritually. That is not to say that I encourage in any way criminal acts whether towards an individual or the government. As well I do not believe in the rape, molestation, or physical abuse of women and children or men for that matter. It is not ones right as a human being or through spirituality to violate another person in such ways nothing gives a person the right to commit murder, rape, child molestation or any other acts of violence, sexually or physically. If it is legal in their home country and that is acceptable in their culture fine then they should remain in their country but I still do not approve of that kind of behaviour or condone it. Speaking Honestly I don't care if a Muslim or other person who's religion allows multiple wives, the use of mind altering substances for religious ceremonies, or animal sacrifices. Where this is legal they have such rights or privileges that they would not have elsewhere. But when those individuals come to a place like Australia or America they do not have those rights or privileges under the law and they should abide therein by the laws of the country that they live or are visiting.

I was not aware of a supermax facility in Australia. But yes you are right not all prisons in Australia have air-conditioning there are several that do and I believe the general consensus is that before long most will eventually have it. Also every 6 man unit has a video camera fitted in the day room which covers everything outside the inmate’s cells.

As far as computers go I believe about 85% of Australian prisons have computer labs in the education department. and about 82% of Australian low, medium, and high security prisons allow inmates to purchase computers through what they call an outside Buy up but only with the express written consent of the General Manager or Warden he must The GM or Warden must feel that the computer is safe and not a risk to staff or other inmates as well I believe they assess each request based on the inmates crime attitude behaviour and the area that the inmates are in.

See in Australian prisons there is secure blocks that house trouble inmates who have been in General population (AKA Residential) and been sent back to secure because they caused trouble and are sent to secure as a punishment sometimes for a set period other times the may not be given the opportunity to return to residential. As well this secure unit would house inmates who caused trouble even before leaving the secure induction Block.

Secure Induction blocks to induct new inmates which basically means they go to classes or briefings where they are informed of Do's and Don’ts as well as courses on workplace health and safety, Job availability and how and when to apply for an available position, Centre link payments, Legal Aid etc.

Then there are protection units to house sexual offenders, such as rapists, child molesters or paedophiles, as well as inmates who have mental illnesses or are afraid of entering General population (aka Residential)

I believe that maximum security and super max rules would have their own set of guidelines and things like computers could pose a risk to staff or inmates if the inmates where allowed them in their cells. So yes I believe their may be a variance of Things which are allowable in some prisons but not others.
But I cannot stress enough Maryborough Correctional Facility was built to be a model prison for all Australian prisons with Goals of reduction or elimination of drug trade inside Correctional Facilities and the constant and somewhat overpowering but necessary encouragement for inmates to participate in work, education, hobbies and mandatory Program classes fro their offences in order to empower the inmates to take responsibility for their lives get on track be productive and not re-offend. I know if there where more prisons structured like Maryborough and they followed through there would be a fair decrease in inmate populations and inmates re-offending. I have a lot of respect for the staff at Maryborough and how they treat the inmates like human beings even when they start acting like idiots or animals.

Hope that is the input you were seeking

Corry

Lulu,

hello :)

yes in some (not sure how many will look into it though) low, medium and High security prisons inmates may have nintento game cubes, playstations, and computers. They must purchase them through the prison though and are not allowed to recieve them outside of that from home or visitors. They must also either save the money in their account to buy them or make a request to the GM to allow them to exceed there trust account limit to allow family or friends to deposit the money for such items. If that is approved (if the inmate has the funds he may just do the following) The inmate must make a request to the GM requesting approval to purchase such Items like playstations computers etc.

Lulu,
Sorry should have stated the pro's and con's of having these items....

Inmates are allowed to have computers in their cells so that they may lock them up for saftey as the prison will not accept liability for damages (though if the damage was intentional the inmate who caused said damage may be charged)

Playstations and other console games that are allowed can be used in the day room and or the inmates cell again the prison is not liable if its damaged.

If inmate A in Unit RB4a has a playstation in his cell and inmate B from unit RB4b wants to borrow the console game Inmate A From unit RB4a may lend it taking the risk of damage upon himself inmate B from RB4b. But at no time may inmate B enter into inmate A's unit to play the console game.
However inmates who share a unit (in my case there were 6 of us) may with permission from another cell mate or unit member who owns one of these games enter into said unit members cell and play the game with the inmate who occupies the cell.

Risk of having these items is that tey are x rayed upon entry and hard drives are searched before an inmate may take possession of a computer. It is obvious that one could conceal prohibited objects or substances in these items there fore they are searched frequently.

Also remember this is a privalege which can be removed at any time for just about any wrong doing even back chatting a guard. which in general means you could get one take possession and tell a guard off and never see it again till the day you are released.

any how thats all for now any more questions just ask

:) Corry :)

Thank you Corry for your reply, it is appreciated. I hope you are well and happy.

I hope I didn't offend you with my questions. It's just that as an Aussie citizen very little little is known about life behind bars in this country and we really should have more access to general information.

Yes I also agree that no matter what a person's religion is, the law remains the same. That's what I was trying to say in my post. As you probably know we have a very large Muslim population here and a lot of misunderstanding. Plus we have the world's largest Muslim population just next door in Asia. People here get a little nervous at times, including me. As I said in my first post, no matter what crime is committed, a person's relgion/culture is not an excuse.

Enough of that. I'm glad inmates can have computers if they can afford them and have "earnt" them.

Thanks Corry
Grevillia

Thank you Cory for your reply.

Many thanks for that look into life as an inmate at an Australian prison. It answered a lot of questions I have had.


One question though - What are the correctional officers like in a prison here? The only things I know about prison guards come from Hollywood movies which more often than not portray them as brutal thugs.:eek:

Are they really like that or do they tend to be friendly and laid back?

Many thanks for any help with that question.

Regards
Goober

Hi Goober
I see in your profile you have a friend about to go into prison. Australian prisons arent that bad, and I dont believe that the guards beat up the inmates. They have this new thing going, where they all try and be pals, believe it or not, but I will get some more information for you.
It isnt like Alcatraz, thats how I believed prison would be, and was shocked to find out that they have a huge recreation area, and visits arent that bad either.

Any questions, feel free to ask away, but I believe the guards are laid back, but strict still in a sense.

Welcome to PTO as well, I am glad that you are here. Which prison is your friend going to, and I will try and get as much information as I can.

Hi Kyla. My apologies for taking so long to reply.

It's a relief that the guards don't sound to bad in Aussie prisons. After going through some of the other threads it sounds as though the prisons in Australia are a tad better than ones elsewhere.

I believe my friend is going to Goulbourn but I'm not 100 percent as I haven't talked to him recently.

Thanks for the welcome

Goober

Goober
Your friend will be ok. I know someone that has been in Goulburn prison, and though it sounds tough, he said it wasnt half as bad as what he expected. Most prisons here now are high security. The prison my husband was in was high security, and though it seemed mean on the outside, and he hated being there (he hates routine), it wasnt half as bad as I thought he imagined. Prison isnt a good place to be at the best of times. I guess its the getting to know people and trying to fit in, thats the hardest part. Also being confined and told when you can do things, and how to do things is the worst he said (routine)
Perhaps you can add his name into the penpal section, if he is looking for people to write to while his in. It would be great to get a Aussie prison section started, and I am sure the ladies on lost vault would love to add some of our prisoners.

Come here and keep us updated at how his doing.

Hi Corry, was reading your description of prison and there are a few observations that I would like to include. I am assuming that you are doing time in Queensland? Perhaps rez at Borallon or Woodford? Your description does not apply to Sir David Longland CC in Qld or Goulburn High Security Unit in NSW. At SDL CC the atmosphere is always tense with the 'them and us' attitude. It has the highest prisoner mortality rate for unsolved murders and 'unnatural deaths' than any other Oz prison I have been in (see my posting The Killing Fields of Queensland). The High Security Unit at Goulburn is the supermax of NSW - a soul destroying sensory deprived abortion of a jail that was ever created and is followed closely by the MSU's (maximum security units) at R&R and SDL CC in Qld. And of course not to mention good old B Block at SDL CC where screws fostered racial disharmony 1998-2000 that resulted in being the first Oz prison to be racially segregated on the basis of colour - Murris (aboriginal prisoners) in C Block and white prisoners in B Block. A memo was put out that The Bakehouse was a 'whites only' employment area. The racial segregation subsided after tensions eased but the whole situation was precipitated by the screws who had their own agenda for wanting drama in the jail. Then there was the 1997 escape from SDL CC by Brenden Abbott and 4 others including 3 lifers. The collective punishments inflicted by the then Minister fo CS on all remaining prisoners included B Block getting turned into a jail within a jail covered by steel cladding that shut out natural light. I actually saw men turn into institutionalised robots with no incentive left in them. In some cases men never ventured outside the block for years and when they did it was like they were released from prison - perhaps they were to some extent because B Block was another world. In the time I was there I saw five body bags carried out of the block. Five unsolved murders! But the most extraordinary thing about the 1997 escape was the QDCS sanction to restrict any escapee from progressing through the system to residential and work release programs etc. The escapee restriction applied to all and every prisoner and it did not matter when or where the escape occurred. In my case I escaped from a NSW jail in 1970 (nearly 30 years prior to the sanction) and I fell into the restrictive category! Guys who had run away from juvenile insititutions also fell into the category and were punished again years later by QDCS. And then there was this little gem from QDCS a couple of years ago - some imbecile decided that any parolee who had vacated the State did not deserve his/her parole so they immplemented Operation Cashmere which was a joint operation between QDCS and the Qld Police Department and in effect utilised tax-payer money to go to every Australian State and re-arrest on a parole violation and extradite back to Qld to serve out the remainder of their time! In some cases people had vacated Qld 10 and 20 years ago and were living successful criminal free lives in other States until they got the knock on the door. Qld prisons are equal to everything I have heard and read about prisons in the southern states of the US. The Queensland prisoneaucracy have this unique mindset that was epitomised by a parole officer at Borallon who told a prisoner I was trying to help explain that they had made a mistake with his release calculations and he was three weeks overdue for release. After it penetrated the prisoneaucratic PO's mind-fog and he realised he would have to get off his fat ass and expedite the guy's release he came out with this pearl of wisdom "anyway, when you are released you will still be owned by the State until you finish parole". My observations of the prison system may differ from those of yours Corry but my observations are solely confined to max where I spent most of my time. There is a significant distinction between super-max, maximum security, medium security, minimum security, and open security. Where men have been sensory deprived and confined in solitary and isolation like Brenden Abbott has been since 1998 because he embarrassed Qld prison authorities and escaped from the supposedly 'escape-proof' B Block at SDL CC and are compared to less restrictive regimes like residential or open security there is going to be a differing of opinion as to the benfits or otherwise of the conditions in those places. Anyway cheers Corry and hoping you have not much more time to do in there.

I missed the second thread :eek: Just read that you are out. congrats :thumbsup: I do not know much about Maryborough CC but I have some friends living up there and went up there to visit in 2002 and they were talking about the new jail just about to open. I read with interest your observations of Maryborough but I feel, for all their good intentions, once a new prison has been in existence for a while the rot sets in on both sides of the fence. The screws get disillusioned and revert back to form and the crims are always testing the boundaries until it becomes the 'them and us' syndrome once again. I found the only difference was when a prisoner got out of max and adjusted to a lesser restrictive regime ie medium, minimum etc. I remember when SDL CC opened at the end of 1989. They had their first murder in there one month later on Australia Day 1990. And when Woodford opened in 1997 they tried to make it a non-smoking jail which resulted in the riot that nearly burned the place down. As I said in my earlier reply I did most of my time in max in Qld and NSW jails and out of 18 years jail time I have served nearly 16 in max. I guess I have seen a harsher side of prison life and therefore a little more critical of prison authorities and their agendas. I have seen a guy blow up on a visit with his little old mum when she said; "I just met this nice officer who helped with directions son" the 'nice officer' was the head basher inside the Observation Section of Long Bay where the guy had been incarcerated for six months. :angry: I guess different people see different personas of prisoners, screws and prisons in general. The trick is to realise those different personas exist and keep an anyltical and logical view of the entire situation. I hope you are right and Maryborough is the new concept of incarceration because Queensland had the highest incarceration in the southern hemisphere from 1999 until about 2003. They need to stop building maximum security jails and concentrate on minimum and medium facilities to facilitate easier re-entry back into the world outside the walls and razor wire. Maybe they will stop throwing fine defaulters and juveniles into adult prisons too. That would decrease the mainstream population. Anyway cheers Corry, glad to hear you are out - the trick is too stay out. cheers. :)

Hey OZ Ex,
Thanks for posting about the prisons. I will get Corry to reply you, his not totally out. He was being held there on remand, and I ended up getting him out through Supreme Court bail, over 12 months ago. He still has to report to the police station three days a week, and I think he has had over 20 court appearances adjourned to date. His trial is still pending.
I agree with you, I hope he stays out... but those DPPs are cruel and harsh. We can only pray and hope.

oz ex-prisoner, Well I do agree the short stay I had at Maryborough CC was during the teething stage and I am sure it has changed in th 12 months I have been out. The sad thing is that I have yet to have my matters delt with in the District court. So I could be facing more time and deportation. The system in QLD is so flawed and corrupt and sadly I feel that I am going to be sucked into the vacum of being made an example for other american immigrants and tourists who might offend in QLD though I still maintain I am innocent of most of the charges and I am afraid I will suffer the wrath of the QLD judicial system mostly because of my nationality but also because I suffer a mental illness. anyways what can I do I have no recollection of the events of the day I was charged except that I wanted to die and I overdosed and then later that I had been repeatedly spray with capsicum spray on my face and genitals by Hervey Bay Police. Yes QLD is a disturbing place and I would deter any americans or non australians from visiting the state and am spreading the word through e-mails family and friends and any other media that becomes available.

Rose
I dont think prison life is that great at all, but I know of men here, that go for parol, and say they dont want to leave, they get a bed, three meals a day and a job. I know people that have been released as well, and re offend, as they say life in our prison system is better, cause there friends are there and they have no one on the outside. It still isnt a very nice place to be, by stating this, especially those that have jobs, friends and loved ones on the outside.
I just thought of something to. At visits, they put disney movies on for the kids, and have a play area, with a shut gate, that they can play in as well, with books and swings, etc. They were building BBQs to, so people can keep the kids in a family type enviroment, behind those walls.
As I said, not perfect, there is strict rules to follow, but they have thought it through as well.
Depends on the inmate. If you are lving on the streets, prison is by far a much better place to be. If you have no family or friends on the outside, prison buddies are the next best thing. It really depends on how you want to do your jail time. If you want to be a thief and steal from other inmates, if you want to have an attidue to other inmates then dont expect them to be very friendly or supportive back to you.

While in custody I went out of my way to form friendships with other inmates. If anything happened to me I knew they would side with me. If I wanted something it was much better to trade for things than having to beg or do suckhole favours like some inmates do. When you dont have to pay rent, bills, or go to work, can watch videos, television or play video games or pool most of the day, listen to music and read a book without being disturbed, and sometimes have sex, prison can be a very tempting place to stay in if you have no support, money or understanding on the outside.

Hello i have just read through all of this and i dont want to sound rude but i believe you are in Q.L.D and have done the daily routine and etc from a jail there, i must say here in N.S.W it is not the same.
I dont think any 2 jails are the same with there rules, i have been to a few in the past 5 years and i have never experienced the same thing twice, i have never had a visit with my partner like you have explained,lock downs and musters are completely different, no computers here. I hope i havent upseted anyone

Not sure who you are writing to Chezza but yes each CC has it's own muster times. Even though Emu Plains CC and Mulawa CC are run by the DCS, the muster times were different. Lock downs at Emu Plains commenced at 8.30pm while at Mulawa it was 7.30 pm in the main wings and 4.00 pm at Brady. Visit routines were done differently too.

hi Cheeza
Yep, that is a QLD prison, they would all be different, depending on level of security, state etc. Thats just one experience with one prison. No one is offended :D Its the questions you dont ask that are the wrong ones :)

Kyla:
Hi i must say i have heard qld jails are much more advantage than here but i must say getting a computer is a major privlige, it would be here anyway. I just was like 'what' when i read it do they have them in max jails as well.

That was a high security prison. They dont have computers, they can put a request in to the general manager to get a playstation. The games are limited what they can play, but they can get games as well. The computers are for computer training and education. I think you can also order a laptop in there (just remembered), but no internet access. I am not sure how it is in NSW, this is a high security prison in QLD though.

That was a high security prison. They dont have computers, they can put a request in to the general manager to get a playstation. The games are limited what they can play, but they can get games as well. The computers are for computer training and education. I think you can also order a laptop in there (just remembered), but no internet access. I am not sure how it is in NSW, this is a high security prison in QLD though.
In NSW the only computer access you can get is by doing a computer course for Education. The computers are not linked to the internet. At Emu Plains CC they also have a variety of video games including Playstations.

god...how times have changed in the prison system...from a 3x7 smelly cell in 'C' Division Pentridge back in the 60's, with an issue of a 1 inch long candle and a bucket...you already split your match into 4 to last the night with what backy you had....
yep...times have changed....makes a bloke want to break a window...

not really...
take care..p
729

This was my experience of goulbourn...excerpt from my autobiography.
hope i cut out all the language, apologies for the harshness..but that's how it was.. :(

On a train, a couple of hundred miles from Deniliquin in handcuffs guarded by two heavy coppers, on my way to Goulbourn Prison, NSW, in winter.

we arrived at three in the morning, bloody freezing, and a long way from home, my first view of Goulbourn as I stepped off the train at a very cold three in the morning was the long main street that went through the town and up the hill to this Gothic looking Prison, a monstrosity of fear and degradation, a divvy van [cop car] was waiting for me, a short two minute ride and we were there inside the gates, papers were signed and handcuffs swapped over,

I now belonged to the New South Wales Prison System, I was marched over to some horrible dark building full of hundreds of cells between two ranks of guards that belted me with batons, they were yelling at me, ‘smartarse, tough guy, soon sort you out ****!’

In through locked doors and into a grotty little cell with a dirty thin mattress, two grey Army Blankets that thick with grime and filth that were hard to bend, not forgetting the built in blocked up dunny, I couldn’t use it, I asked for a different cell, Bash!! you don’t ask anything, so I pissed on the floor, Bash!!

mustn’t do that again, they left, and the door was locked,
I lay on the floor, cold, wet, and smelly, here I was, my home, for who knows how long, I was cold, very very cold, I was scared, very scared, I felt miserable, really miserable, I shivered myself off to a some sort of sleep,

I woke, scratching my body from bedbug bites, bells ringing in my ears said it was Six a.m, the door opened and I was told to follow the others, I stood at the cell door and looked about, there were two tiers of cells holding about a hundred or so crims, everyone started moving off so I just followed them out into the grey morning light and the freezing cold, there were flakes of snow coming down, everything was covered in a fine film of white, we filed along into another yard and were locked in with another hundred or so guys, everything had the same shade of grey look about it, the sky, the walls, the crims, their clothing, their skin, it was really sad and depressing, everyone had divided themselves up into little groups of gangs or whatever, hundreds of guys all moving about in grey, I moseyed about and bit a ciggie off a bloke and sat there shivering and smoked it, a couple of guys came over to me and asked me where I was from and in for what, as I looked about I could see bad vibes everywhere, there was a lot of tension in that yard, fights had started, probably from some shit the day before, three or four punch-ups later a bell rang, we were herded back inside, pretty scary, there was a long hotbox and a couple of guys dishing this grey matter that moved, and sort of resembled porridge,

Grey Death...appropriately named, and to force it down was a bread bun that shattered if you dropped it, I didn’t get any what was supposed to be tea, looked like black brown stagnant water, so I shivered off back to my cell with this glue stuff that hung when you turned the bowl upside down, the door was slammed shut and locked, I sat on the floor and checked out breakfast, I had no spoon so I ate with fingers, it tasted worse than it looked, cold, lumpy and tasted like shit, half an hour later more bells, door’s opened, guys marching out, I’d been given a number like in the Pen, this time it was three twenty seven, I waited at the door and when my number got called, I followed some other guys with their own clothes on, we were herded down through the prison near the wall to what you could only call second rate dog cages, something you’d see in a lost dogs home, but not as clean, It must have been below freezing, my feet and fingers and back already hurt from the cold, I had no warm clothes, half brick and mesh wire, fifteen by seven by nearly, and I mean nearly, six feet high, you had to bend a bit all the time you were in there, I was put in a yard with four others that were on remand like myself, other cages were guys on trial, remand, sentenced, awaiting classification on their future,
I spent nearly three months in those rotten filthy cages with guys that would rob, root, or bash you for a ciggie butt, I watched my back every second, three months of freezing weather, even when it was snowing heavy, I sat, I stood, I walked, I crouched, and huddled in the yard and counted bricks, eventually, I scored a prison coat to wear, until two guys bashed me and took it, the days consisted of bells, bells to wake up, to work, to lunch, to go in, to go out, to shower, to shit, to lockup, you became a zombie, you lost all your human senses, if you were spoken to it was by number, you lost your individuality, just a number amongst other numbers, hours turned to days,
Time passed slowly by me, 8 months had dragged by...


And then my time had come to front Court, so back in handcuffs, the divvy van, two detectives, and on the train to Deniliquin, I really thought I’d walk out of this, I prepared a bullshit plea to the Judge, It was a bit of a suck plea, but I was on the verge of freedom, and Insanity, one of the two detective turned up from our first little chat, he showed me some papers of Authority to show that I could be free right this instant, or I could go to court and get two years minimum, ha! can’t scare me,

All I had to do was sign on the dotted line and he’d take me back to melb, free, but working for them, I still said no,
I was so sure I was going on the afternoon train to Sydney, Court time came, I was about third up, I felt nervous, but lucky, it was a beautiful day outside, I was thinking of a beer or three, and then it all crashed,
The Prosecutor told the court that from information received in conjunction with the Victorian and Sydney Police, I had been running cars over the border for months, and this time I was caught due to the diligence and hard work from certain police from both states.....bumma..

Two ******* years, ****** hell!!! and no backdate...
I nearly collapsed in the dock, as I was taken out, the cop smiled, “see ya in a couple of years,” mongrel bastard, After holding me in the lockup for a week or so,


I was taken back to Goulbourn, spent more weeks in the cages until I was called out to be classified, they put me in the fuel yard, I thought that might be a warm job, it wasn’t, I started at seven in the morning, wearing heavy, not warm, prison clothing that didn’t fit me, it was still hovering below the zero mark with a heavy mist of sleet and snowfall,
My so-called warm job was holding a five pound steel wedge on this log while some other prick hit it with a fourteen pound hammer, we then proceeded to fill in the day, sawing, splitting and chopping up trees into small bits of firewood for the kitchen boilers, by the end of the first day my hands were blistered, bleeding and covered in frostbite, I had no choice but to settle in and do my bit to move on to a better job, you can’t win in the system, it doesn’t work, I found that for those that do try to buck it are still on the fuel yard six months later. my job lasted just over a month or two...every new guy starts on the fuel yard and works their way up to a better job...

So I was moved to an inside job...folding lottery tickets and putting them and some other shit in envelopes...a real promising future there that’s for sure..I stuck it for a month or so and put my name down for other jobs about the place, I got myself a job as a Sweeper, I settled into this pretty quick, my inexperienced position of noble standing suited me right down to the ground...I had to keep a section of the Prison around the insides of the outside wall hosed, swept and tidy, there were four or five guard towers along my section of the wall and my patch was along the front of the cages to the corner of the jail...at the end of the cages was a little room for brooms buckets and shit...but to me it was my little world of privacy...a place I could go and be me...I cruised along with the job...

The weather was getting a bit better, and I felt okay...I had little bits of business with the guys in the cages..I’d run messages and such for them..and a couple of the tower screws had some human blood in them...

I'd bring them a billy of coffee, I could get the boiling water and a couple of the screws brought in coffee and sugar...once a week they’d bring me a pack of tobacco or ciggies and a couple of times a day they’d let down a bit of string..I’d tie the billy to it and they’d haul it up, when it came back down my little payments were in it...simple.....I passed on the backy to the guys in the cages that had none,
I was earning points and getting days off my sentence, every morning the Governor and others would do their rounds and come along for inspection, he’d nod at me, good...carry on. I had nearly a year to go, you sort of get Institutionalised to a degree that you just cruise along living by the bells, not too caring about the outside world, you see a movie once a fortnight, see someone get shivved for some reason or other, make friends, make enemies, their easy to make...and when you have enemies inside the prison system...there’s nowhere to go....hear me...no-where to go..you fight, or you kill,
I never had visits, better not too, it slows down time, and time is what you have too much of, too much time to think of loved ones, wives and girlfriends, too much time to think who’s backdooring you, {rootin your woman behind your back} too much time to talk to the wrong people in these places and learn all the things and ways of life there are within the underground of criminals,

And then you have bad days. This day came when one of the screws on the towers said he wasn’t going to pay up no more, he still wanted his billy of tea, but under threat of exposure, Trafficking they call it...a pretty serious offence...I put a note in a billy and let the other screws know and they said they’d have a chat with him over the pub after work, evidently he wasn’t too well liked, and he was just being a mongrel, the next day he was off sick.

I guess they had a chat with him...The next day was payday, he was back on the post, I sent up some billy’s, down came my ciggies, tobacco, little bottles of brandy, gin, and just as I tied on his billy, I felt a presence, I turned and my heart stopped, five Security guards were standing there in all their Gestapo black uniform glory. I was made to strip on the spot, everything came out on the ground, my little room was raided and more stuff was found behind my hidy bricks, I was ****** well and truly.
This was serious shit..and I was in it...I was charged with Trafficking, The tower screws in the deal were fired on the spot virtually...I fronted a Prison court...lost all my remission I had earned since day one...and into the hole...a black painted cell with no light let in whatsoever...I went insane...the screw that lagged on me had come to my door of a night and laughed at me....porridge came twice a day with the odd bread roll of faeces, special gift from him..

On the seventh day, I was out, back on the fuel yard, back at square one...f**k it..was I pissed off...for the next couple of weeks I worked hard at a little scheme that would get me out of here..I’d made up some passes that was good enough to get me through a couple of gates and into the yard where my little room was....from this spot the guards couldn’t see me when they changed their shift....if they weren’t looking my way....I’d waited for the right time..it was pissing down and windy...the screws were rugged up from the wind...and I was off...through the two gates and down around the wall, I’d grabbed a mop and bucket so it would look I was going around to the yards to mop up, everything was a dull dirty grey shade, I made it to my old shed and ducked in to get myself together, this was it...if I made it I’d go to Sydney and get into some business somewhere....I was up on my little shed and across the metal strut that ran the phone lines to the towers...I pulled myself across and up to the wall which was about thirty or so feet high...I had a bundle of wiring that I’d put together to tie onto the strut and let myself down the other side...simple...I needed fifteen more seconds to make it over and tie on and drop...it was a long way down...some of the guys in the cages saw me but said nothing....I made it to the top...tied on the wire..one leg either side of the wall, then I heard a voice...”hey you...stop or I’ll fire” I looked around, one of those bad moments in time...happened, one of the screws on the tower had turned and looked my way, so now I had a choice...keep going and maybe get shot, or maybe get away, within seconds a siren went off and there were screws every where, down below me, outside the wall, the coppers came in droves....guns out ready to spoil my day....all the guys in the cages were now egging me on...go man..go...f*** em all man...bullshit!,
I must have looked pretty stupid perched up on the wall, the wind was blowing a gale...the rain soaked me...then half a dozen or more security guys came along with the governor, it was quite a party, all of us in our little drama frozen in time....soaking wet and f******g cold, they were all quoting rules and regulations at me...telling me shit, If I came back down on the inside..I’d be charged with attempted escape, packed up and sent to Sydney, Long Bay Gaol,
If I went down the outside I’d be charged with escape and sentenced to anything up to twelve months, I came back down the inside, taken away and locked in the Black Hole for another week along with a bashing, days passed, I fronted a Prison Court, three months extra, I felt really pissed off,

I kicked shit out of the cell door for hours into the night, then at about five one morning the door opened, I was ripped out and taken to the front gate and put in a prison van, no wash, no brekky,

Hundreds of miles and many pickups along the way later, a full Van arrives at H.M.Prison long Bay Sydney, the main Prison of New south Wales, this is where I was going to finish off my time, which I roughly worked out to be about a year, so as I was still under twenty one I was put into the boys yard, Block A,

Terrifying, I was classified pretty quick and scored a job in the kitchen, one of the best jobs in the place...usually when your shanghaied, transferred without notice, you get put on the worst jobs until you work your way up again,

I was later to find out that most of the screws from Goulbourn were pretty shitty on the screw that put me in and cost the job of two others..phone calls were made, evidently they felt a bit sorry for me, I guess they have to do their time as well, so I stuck with the job and settled down to life in that hole of a palace, I saw a lot of shit go down in there, things that you really didn’t see, you just try to mind your own business,

And things i didn't want to see.....I was having a shower one day in a communal shower block..there was about twenty of us in there at the time...a couple of screws were on watch at the door...and then the next second they had gone from the room, you can imagine the noise of twenty guys showering, all yelling out to each other..laughing talking...doing a bit a business..but when these two screws walked out..apart from the sound of water, everything went dead quiet, a scary quiet, next I heard grunting and groans, I had a peek out and down to where the sound came from....this guy that was known as a bit of a gangster had evidently lagged on someone....he was getting shivved, Stabbed, to death with a large pair of laundry scissors....two or three guys were giving it to him.....one of the guys saw my head pop out and pointed for me to get back in...I did, then I looked down..the gutter that carries the shower water out was running red with thick congealing blood...a lot of it...I stood there and looked, but no-one saw anything, no-one heard anything, everyone knew nothing...that’s the way it goes,
Another time, I was talking to this guy up on a top tier, a couple of other guys came along...as there’s not a great deal of room I moved back into a cell doorway for a second as they passed...when I turned the guy that I was chatting to had gone, I thought he must have followed them..I looked..no-where to be seen...the next instant there was a sound of a hard slap....I looked over the rail and down and there he was splattered on the floor....his scull opened like a watermelon, very dead, they’d tipped the guy over the railing, it was at least a thirty foot drop, other times you’d see a couple of guys run into someone’s cell and and a second later run out again, covered in blood, not theirs....now the strange thing about Prison life is that you meet these guys..and have a sort of a nodding relationship,

I played poker with a guy called Stephen Bradley, the Graeme Thorn Kidnapper, we got on pretty well, he was in charge of the Library so we’d sit around and play cards and chat, he got around to his case, how the whole thing had gone wrong and the little boy had suffocated accidently, not too many people liked him, evidently he had a stroke or something.....
so they say....
I think the autopsy may have showed meat skewer wounds, It’s very hard to describe the amount of tension and stress inside these places....
I met many a tough guy...murderers..rapists...arm rob guys, one old bloke I was friendly with had been there for twenty odd years for hacking off his wife’s head and carrying it around in a bag, another had cut up a prostitute from her fanny to her neck..all because she laughed at him being too drunk to get it up, but underneath this violent shell, some were nice guys, a lot of these blokes have books written about them today,
mainly as their dead,
these guys look tough and dangerous...but most of them are just like any one else...it’s just the surrounding influences I think, that can change us....If you get them at the right moment..there not that tough...with families and kids, there were some that were just complete mongrels...not really fit to be a human being, everyone seemed to be a certain breed in there...or maybe you become that certain breed, the saying goes that if you lie down with dogs your bound to get fleas....very true.
Time dragged slowly by...a lot happened....I’d rather forget...

somehow, some of my remission that I thought I’d lost at Goulbourn was still on my file, which was great...so I found that I had a lot less to do than first thought of....maybe some paper work had been altered, maybe, a lot of inmates work in offices in the prison system, clerical duties and such....and if you have cash or connections anything can be done.

I survived Long Bay with my body intact and my sanity and my arse in repairable pieces.

hope this was ok to post.....p

Just discover this thread. Thanks Cory for sharing this information. Must be hard sharing a computer with Kyla ( I appreciate very much her work and many of her posts)

Don't ya hate it when you're about to finish editing, the entire screen goes a blank blue. Story lost. Anyway the saying "if you lie down with dogs your bound to get fleas" is true maybe some of the time. I know prison changed me as a person. I had a lot of contempt for prisoners but they did change my mind or perhaps I changed my own mind. I saw how badly prison officers treated people, how police treat you like your guilty before being proven innocence. My views on the Police have changed. Police are very arrogant. I dont believe police are honest. There are many people in the system that dont deserve to be behind bars. I never really felt unsafe in prison. The only time I felt a lot of fear was in the police cells more than anywhere else. The police cells in Newtown would have to be the most philthiest places I have ever had the misfortune of being in. The police there are *****. Something should be done about the holding cells at Central Local Court too.

726 Thanks for sharing your story. How long ago were you in Goulbourn prison? It sounds like the old convict days, how awful for you. Things have certainly changed since then (thank goodness). Thanks for sharing!!

This was very interesting to read. My boyfriend is in Alice Springs jail and doesn't like talking about it at all - not that he is really meant to.
I do know however there is no heating or airconditioning and with the temperature reaching 40 + last summer my bf got quite ill, but no one wanted to know. I did ring the health dept but it seems the jail is not covered by anyone?? In winter it is the opposite - temp down to 0 - and he is always freezing.

Our visits are only 1 hour in mainstream and in minimum. Thankfully 2 - 3 years ago they got the phone system up and running, I love my 10 min phone call each night.

I often wonder what it is like in there.
Do the staff treat you like you are nothing? Are you ever treated like a human being?
Sue

I realise this is an old thread but I wanted to have my say about the
system at Cessnock Correctional Centre in NSW where my brother is
currently being held.
In the maximum section the prisoners are given breakfast and then let
out of their cells at 8:30 Am. They are then free to roam around their
allocated area until 11:30, which they are then sent back to their
cells and given lunch and locked in until 12:30. At 12:30 they are once
again let out to roam around and do whatever they choose until 3:30
when they are served dinner, which is also when they are locked in
their cells for the rest of the night until their morning let out time.
They are allowed to make 6 minute phone calls during the day when they
are out roaming around the allocated area, providing they have enough
funds in their personal account to make the call. The prisioner is
allowed to recieve up to $100 a week from their loved ones which is put
into their prison account to buy whatever buy ups they wants and also
for their phone account.
Of a Saturday and Sunday they are allowed up to 4 adult visitors in one
session to see them. When they have visitors they have to change into a
pair of white overalls which are fastened at the neck and sealed so
they can't undo them.The visits go for one hour and they are only
allowed that one visit a day. Of a week day their meals consist of
normal foods and of a weekend they aren't locked in for lunch and their
meals consist of things like pies and sausage rolls.
Their bedding consists of a thin foam mattress, 2 sheets and 2 blankets
which are like the blankets you get in the hospital, And if you're
lucky you might be able to get yourself a pillow (it took my brother
from the 28th of July until a week ago to find himself a pillow)
When visitors arrive at the jail, they have to go to the visitors
reception area and fill out a form, There's only one form to be filled
out per set of visitors seeing that one person. On the form it just
says things like your name, address, relationship to the inmate and
your D.O.B.
After filling out the form you then hand it over at the counter with
your identification, which has a sticker with a number on the back of
it which you are given the first time you go there to visit an inmate.
You're then handed a key to a locker to put your personal things in and
then it's a matter of waiting for your name to be called. Visitors are
allowed to take a max. of $10 in change into the visiting area to
purchase cold drinks out of a machine.
Once in the visiting room there's different little knee high tables
everywhere bolted to the ground with stools (also bolted to the ground)
around them. One of the seats has INMATE marked on it, So obviously the
inmate must sit in it.
After the 1 hour a warden calls up "Finish up please" And then waits
for us all to leave. During the visiting time you're allowed full
contact with the inmates, So you can hug and kiss them and so on, or
whatever you choose.
So yeah, Sorry if I seem like I've been rambling, But I thought I would
add my bit as to what I've learnt so far, And if I remember anymore I
will add it at a later time.

One last thing, there's no air conditioning or heating there.

Lauren,
Thanks for the information. My partner spent one or two nights in Cessnock while they were moving him from the reception centre to the centre he is in now. He told me that it was much less pleasant than the other places he has spent time in. Not in those words though.
I wish you and your brother good luck!

- del

Not a problem. Hopefully my brother will get a trial date set soon (he's in for drug offences) I've found the hardest part is the waiting. Anyway's, Enough of being off topic.

I hope what I wrote will help some people.

hi i am just curious as to what 'jails' you base this on are they in nsw? cause my man gets locked down at 3.30pm

It varies from prison to prison, there's no one fixed rule... But It gives one an idea anyway. :P

Interesting thread. I could enlarge on the topic too, as my son has been incarcerated in 4 different prisons (2 NSW and 2 QLD) and three lock ups since 2001. Each one is different.

Although it was a 5 hour drive each way, I think Glen Innes was the best. No bars, no locks no walls and fences. He worked at the sawmill and with the horses. The govenor's pet dogs were allowed to wander freely among the inmates. It was such a humane prison. We had great family visits, we could stay all day if we wanted we took food in with us for lunch and eventually after he's served half his sentence he was allowed off the premises from Friday night to Sunday afternoon, every weekend if we wanted.

He's in Qld now and the visits are not so good. His conditions have varied from good to bad from Arthur Gorrie to Borallon and I find the visits a trial. The time limit sucks, the way we are processed like animals sucks and I have even been refused a visit because I failed a computerised drug test. I am a drug free teetotaller.

Qld could do better.

Morina C

Hi, Yes Arthur Gorrie isn't the nicest place to visit. But I had my BF brothers with me when I visited so I had some support. (comic relief ) Ha! Ha! they were trying to cheer me up!
Wolston is a little better. I tend to go on my own now. Depends on the officers on duty too. Some treat you with respect. I find them very cold places even in summer. I have been lucky visiting my BF in QLD, I'm in VIC. I often wonder if I will get to see him when I fly up there after booking a visit that same week. Sometimes he can't call out cause of phones being down. I cant call him so it does concern me sometimes. There must be a better way to treat people inside. Sounds like some officers are no better than some of the violent/angry inmates.
Strength to you
Sandyg

He's in Qld now and the visits are not so good. His conditions have varied from good to bad from Arthur Gorrie to Borallon and I find the visits a trial. The time limit sucks, the way we are processed like animals sucks and I have even been refused a visit because I failed a computerised drug test. I am a drug free teetotaller.

Qld could do better.

Morina C

I totally agree with the QLD system. Maryborough wasnt to bad , it was high tech, and new, so it wasnt as bad as most of the prisons in QLD. I was talking to this lovely older lady, thats husband was in prison, he was confused over GST, he paid it when he worked it out with the change over, he was over 60, they through him in prison anyway. He was in Arthur Gorrie. His wife went to visit him, she was the sweetest little dear anyone could of met. She did one of those drug swipe things at visits (they dont use those in Maryborough, its high tech and scary), but anyway.... it said that she had cocaine on her fingers. SHE DIDNT. It was just a test that wasnt performed properly, it humiliated her, and nearly cost her visits with her husband. They really need to get it right. They did find out they were wrong, she even went to her doctor and had a drug test done to prove that she didnt use illicit drugs. Its just the little things I have heard. Its supposed to be a remand centre, where they are held until sentencing, I always thought to myself the saying, after hearing the stories, what happened to innocent until proven guilty, the stories that have come out of there.

Those dogs are quite cute and friendly, especially when they sit down next to you. :P

Seriously though, false positives are a serious problem. I knew a guy who was given a sedative of some kind when he was in lockup after getting sentenced, and they did a random urinalysis on him about 4 weeks later, and it came up as that in his system, and he got written up, and almost tossed in DU. He didn't know what it was they had given him in lockup, and there was no record of them giving it to him... he ended up fighting it all the way, and they retested him after the time it had passed through his system and they let him off..

my ex partner was on medication for a mental illness, and they decided to try and toss him in DU as well, put him in security, it was his mental health drugs, or secure, from residential. I was fortunate enough to get him out from remand, on supreme court bail.
Those dogs are so cute, they used to get us all in a circle, let them sniff us all, and there used to always be an undercover there, holding drugs that got the dogs going OFF!! Interesting to see actually. I remember my kids were over there patting the dogs, the trainer the first week was really nice about it, the second week, there was someone different, that went off at my kids for patting the cute little puppy!! I guess they have a job to do as well, so understood the reasoning in it all.

Hi Everyone...I was wondering If there is anyone who has had many experience,s in Victorian Jails....I,ve been to Pentridge, Sale (Protection) Morwell River ,"The Rat" and Wron Wron.....In My Experience the Screws where alot better than the "Jacks"...Oh And this was 8 years ago ..I realize that some of them are now closed ,and seeing as I now Living in the States ,I was wondering what Prisons have taken the Place of Morwell River (open Camp)....

When visitors arrive at the jail, they have to go to the visitors
reception area and fill out a form, There's only one form to be filled
out per set of visitors seeing that one person. On the form it just
says things like your name, address, relationship to the inmate and
your D.O.B.
After filling out the form you then hand it over at the counter with
your identification, which has a sticker with a number on the back of
it which you are given the first time you go there to visit an inmate.
You're then handed a key to a locker to put your personal things in and
then it's a matter of waiting for your name to be called. Visitors are
allowed to take a max. of $10 in change into the visiting area to
purchase cold drinks out of a machine.
Once in the visiting room there's different little knee high tables
everywhere bolted to the ground with stools (also bolted to the ground)
around them. One of the seats has INMATE marked on it, So obviously the inmate must sit in it.
After the 1 hour a warden calls up "Finish up please" And then waits
for us all to leave. During the visiting time you're allowed full
contact with the inmates, So you can hug and kiss them and so on, or
whatever you choose.
So yeah, Sorry if I seem like I've been rambling, But I thought I would
add my bit as to what I've learnt so far, And if I remember anymore I
will add it at a later time.

One last thing, there's no air conditioning or heating there.

YES this iz how it waz like when we saw our son @ Bathurst. Felt like a bloody sheep bein' herded through the yards as we made our way from outside in2 a small uncovered section then a small room. Visitin' hours R 9am-3am Sat/Sun. I remember 1 visit we rang the day B4 2 make sure he waz there, Yeah yeah they said. Got there the next mornin' & afta showin' our ID they punched him up on the 'puter & we'll neva 4get the smug look & laugh the screw gave us when he said "U're in the wrong place.......he's @ blah blah blah

This is what happens when you go to visit someone at Parklea prison in the remand centre section..
When we got there you fill in a form saying who you are and your address and your relationship with the prisioner, And then we had to get a picture done, And thumb prints done, Then we get a locker to put our property in, And you need to remove all jewellery. Including earings. But they let me leave 10 in So only removed 4, And then you wait for your name to be called and walk through a big metal detector looking thing one at a time and stand on a box with legs spread and arms out and then they run a metal detector over you. And then you have to wait for all the doors to make a sound as you go near them and then you push them open. And then walk up to a desk and tell them who you are, Oh and before you go into the hallway thing through the detector, you need to once again put your thumb on the machine thing to check who you are, And then once you're through all the rooms there's a desk and you tell them who you are and you do the thumb print thing again.
And they tell you what table to sit at and you just sit there and wait for the inmates to come out, And they have to wear white jump suits which are locked at the neck so they can't take them off. and all inmates have to sit facing the front desk. And after the hour is up an officer comes and tells us it's time to leave and we say bye and go to the desk and get our thumb prints done again and walk back through all the doors and that's it.

Do you know anything about acacia prison in Perth by any chance?

Also remember this is a privalege which can be removed at any time for just about any wrong doing even back chatting a guard. which in general means you could get one take possession and tell a guard off and never see it again till the day you are released.

Corry :)

I read quite recently where Neddy Smith has had his laptop confiscated. He was looking for a way of fighting this ruling, to have it returned.

I believe that societies who value the care of people, ought to value the quality of prison as being best when it most benefits all victims of the crime, including the prisoner and knits social order and unity even in those criminal outcasts our societies all seem to produce.
To wit punishment to appease the victims of the criminals actions and
correctional reform rehabilitation to appease the patience of social error.
both need to be serious considerations in a wise society.

my husband is currently in Silverwater minimum security after 3 months over at M.R.R.C, no release date as yet as he has a hearing pending and a parole board hearing. Can anyone tell me why they are soooo strict on physical contact during visits???. We had more physical contact during vists in max then we do now in minimum, has it always been this way over there? or only since the guard was killed?

Hi Katykat, welcome to the fro!

My man is in Silverwater Correctional Centre - the so called "minimum security" section as well! If you have a look at my post (#12) in the "Visit Stuff" thread, you'll see I had a bit of an experience in this area as well - it seems to very much be related to drugs coming in through contact visits. I don't know why they don't just use more dogs - surely they're more cost effective than having to pay wages for so many CO's to watch everyone closely & still have the drugs getting through?

Drug dogs are still expensive in the long run, as it takes ages to train up a good puppy, and then you still need to pay the wages of the handlers, somewhere for them to live if they don't reside with their handler, etc. Be interesting to know the cost comparison of the extra staff hired vs the number of dogs which would do the same job. It's the same thing at airports. Dogs are just not utilised as much as it seems they could be.

Wow Rose...things have changed since the days of bare cells, solitary confinement, the cage, bread and water, daily bashings/drug & thrump therapy etc...

Corry, my boy gets locked up at 6:15 not 6:30 :(
how do you know all this? are you like a officer at one of the prisons or something?

Hi LiL,

The times vary from facility to facility, there is no one particular set of rules. Corry was just relating his experiences of living as a residential inmate in one particular facility. The members of PTO are made up of a diverse group of people - former inmates like myself, as well as a wide variety of partners, family and friends of current or past inmates.

Welcome to PTO!

MIO

just one comment Alice springs Prison ( in the middle of OZ) has NO aircon (gets up to 40 during summer) and NO heating ( gets down to -4 in winter) Darwin has no Aricon except for approx 20 cells ( one out) at the LSA...... it gets might hot in the tropics mind you!

My boyfriend has been in Silverwater Correctional, Cessnock & Now he is in Kempsey jail.

I've not been to where he is now but i went to Silverwater & its pretty clean cut. You go into the MRRC and fill out a green form, then you take a ticket going by if its your first visit or your a previous visitor. You wait for your number to be called & you hand in your green form, and I.D. They ask you to stare into the camera to scan your eyes (unless there is a problem with your eyes where you can't stare for long - i have a stigma in my eye so it turns in if i stare for too long so they just ask you to look into the webcam and they take a picture of you).

You can take up to 20 dollars in coins in with you, plus the locker key which you have to pay 2 dollars to use but it gives it back to you after your done.

They call the inmate your visiting lastname and you go in they ask if you've got anything in your pockets, then you walk through a metal detector after you've put your coins in a container and they scan you with a hand held metal wand. Once your cleared you walk through into the visiting area. Which you can get drinks and food the inmates can have and then you walk through to the visiting area, give the green form in and they send you into the actual area the visiting takes place.

They were very disorganized the day i went though. My appointment was at 8:30am, and my boyfriend didn't come through to almost 10am. It took them about 45 mins from the time i got into the visiting area to the time he came out. He said that he was ready and waiting in one point for awhile.

They wear a white suit thing with vistor on the back with it zipped and locked at the back with keys on the top of the lock. My boyfriend said that silverwater inmates get 1 hour each block in the yard. But didn't say much else about other things they do.

I do know that they have a work realse program the inmates can apply to do & a gym in the yard. They can make calls as long as they have money in their accounts to do so.

The Silverwater Correctional deposit area is outside to the right as you walk out the doors from the Reception center. I didn't have any problems with anyone there. The guards and people at the reception area were very helpful and kind, and they knew that it was taking ages for them to bring my boyfriend out and were helpful into what was going on. They called and called to find out where he was, but no one answered.

I was able to kiss, hug, hold my boyfriends hands and no one said anything. I even sat on his lap and wasn't told to go sit on the chair and there were two guards outside in the visiting area.

Once i have been to Kempsey jail, i can let you know how that is. I'm nervous that it won't be the same as Silverwater but i guess you get your helpful people and not so helpful people in very jail.