They guard some of the state's most notorious criminals, but little is known about the work prison officers do behind the walls of South Coast Correctional Centre.
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The work of these men and women, who deal particularly in industries roles, is the focus of National Corrections Day on Friday, January 19.
The initiative was established by Corrective Services NSW in 2017 to acknowledge staff and provide the community with a better understanding of the challenging and often dangerous work prison officers do to keep the jail and community safe.
This year’s theme is ‘Working Corrections’ and highlights the valuable role of prison industries and community-service work teams in rehabilitating offenders and giving back to the community.
There are currently 33 industry staff working at the prison, which is set to increase to 40 when the jail expansion is completed in May. The number of inmates will also increase by 360, taking the centre’s capacity to 1051.
South Coast Correctional Governor Mick Reid said it was important to recognise Corrective Services industries staff, as they assist in the education and up-skilling of people who may never have had the opportunity to learn a trade or hold down a job.
“At the moment we are carrying about 550 inmates, about 80 per cent of those have jobs and are working here in the centre, so it’s quite a productive area,” he said.
“A lot of the inmates don’t have a particular trade [so the staff] try and encourage that as best we can and that gives them self esteem and a goal to seek employment once they leave the centre.”
Mr Reid said industries roles were very rewarding for prison officers, as they had the ability to teach new skills that could lead to employment upon an inmate’s release.
“It’s a very frontline job that we do here and I guess it’s rewarding for the staff in that we know [the inmates do gain employment upon release],” he said.
“That’s very encouraging for the staff who put time and effort into those inmates and encourage them to re-skill into whatever trade they wish to.”
More than 300 inmates are employed at South Coast Correctional Centre across a variety of industries, including furniture building, technology and assembly, ground maintenance, hygiene, food service and laundry.
Reporter Madeline Crittenden took a tour of the prison on January 16, and was able to visit the industries area, where inmates produce 22,000 breakfast packs for inmates across the state every day.
Inmates in the furniture business unit spend their working hours building coffee tables or ottomans for overseas companies, or building tables and chairs for preschools and toy factories around the country.
Anthony Hush, an overseer and business unit manager in the industries area, said inmates working in these roles had the ability to work toward certificates in furniture making, warehousing and logistics, as well as several trainee and apprenticeships.
“I’ve had inmates who couldn’t read and write but I’ve showed them the drop saw and they’ve been able to measure and produce something to a really high quality,” he said.
“Other inmates studied auto spray-painting in prison, then went on to complete an apprenticeship when they’ve left custody.
“They get satisfaction from doing a quality job and it gives me satisfaction to see that they’re learning something new and working towards a better future for themselves.”
As an overseer of the hygiene industry in the maximum-security wing, Steve Adams supervises up to 15 inmates to mop, clean and maintain the centre.
“Corrective Services Industries is about equipping inmates with a trade, teaching them respect and giving them something to be proud of,” he said.
“Some of these offenders haven’t worked before and yet a lot of them go on to use these skills on the outside – but they have to be engaged and want to learn.”
Mr Adams has worked in the role since 2011 and said it was nice to receive recognition of National Corrections Day.
“Everyone gets to sit back and see what they’ve achieved through the year and how they’ve helped people,” he said.
“We can show people on the outside what is really going on inside our jails.”