What happens once you walk, or get transported, into a correctional centre? We took a tour behind the bars of two Central Western NSW jails to find out.
It houses 650 inmates, is classified medium security and its staff work around the clock rehabilitating some of the state's worst offenders. But what exactly goes on behind the walls of Bathurst Jail and others like it in the Central West?
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Corrective services staff need little reminding about the volatile nature of their profession. The day of Australian Community Media's visit, the entire jail went into lockdown after an inmate was seriously assaulted.
Security is paramount. If you're walking in as a visitor or staff member, you're scanned by a metal detector so sensitive you have to remove your wedding band to get through it.
You're also searched for contraband (items such as mobile phones, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, lighters, syringes, SIM cards, chargers, computers and offensive weapons).
Through security, you're into the main body of the jail, where six-metre fences topped with razor wire separate the yards.
The staff are great; every day is a new adventure. If you take it that way, and with an open mind, it really is a good place to work.
- Bathurst Jail Governor Mark Kennedy
Jail governor Mark Kennedy said the reason for this is simple: if things go badly, it's far easier to contain the situation in a small, secure environment.
"The whole jail is zoned," he said.
Head of custodial security Len Peter meets us just outside the entry.
He said he loves his job, and there is a great team of officers working behind the jail's facade.
"The staff are great; every day is a new adventure. If you take it that way, and with an open mind, it really is a good place to work."
He said his job is not just about keeping staff safe, but also inmates.
"We look after the inmates. It's about rehabilitation. We communicate with them, the staff work alongside them and we do get a lot who want to make a change," he said.
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But ultimately, he said it's up to the individual to want to make a change for the better.
He said the most difficult time for any inmate is when they are on remand.
"Once an inmate is sentenced, they are more stable," he said.
"Being on remand is a difficult stage for them and us. They might be coming down off drugs or alcohol, things are uncertain, they don't know what lies ahead.
"Some of the inmates come in here and they don't know where their kids are, or since their arrest their house is sitting there empty, or they have pets, and there's no-one out there to look after them.
"We sort all that out; we get in touch with housing, or family and let them know what's happening, so it can be dealt with.
Some of the inmates come in here and they don't know where their kids are, or since their arrest their house is sitting there empty, or they have pets, and there's no-one out there to look after them.
- Bathurst Jail Governor Mark Kennedy
"It's the little things like that that people outside don't see us doing. I'm proud of the work we do."
Mr Kennedy agreed and said his staff help the men better themselves and adjust back to a normal, law-abiding life in the community.
"We're here to provide good neighbours, make the inmates better people when they go out then when they came in.
"We're not here to punish them. That's the court's job.
"Our job is to provide programs and support so they go back into the community as better people."
So what does happen when a prisoner is refused bail?
We're not here to punish them. That's the court's job.
- Bathurst Jail Governor Mark Kennedy
They are transported to the jail and taken straight to "reception", where medical, mental and other assessments are undertaken.
"Coming into custody for the first time is quite a high risk time. That's why the inmate is assessed and any risks are mitigated to keep them safe," Governor Kennedy explained.
The inmate usually stays there for a couple of hours, during which time they'll be interviewed by a nurse and undergo a property search, before being issued their "greens" (clothing).
If they were on any regular medicine on the outside, a nurse (there are around 30 nurses employed by the jail) gets in touch with the clinic to sort out prescriptions. A methadone clinic also operates on site.
Mr Kennedy said staff work very closely with Justice Health, which runs a clinic on site at Bathurst Jail.
"We have an incredibly good relationship with Justice Health; they are really important to the way we manage inmates."
It's a high-risk time when staff have to take an inmate out of jail for any reason - medical treatment, court appearances - and every time that happens at least one armed escort must accompany the prisoner.
Take a look behind the wall in D-Wing
Once the inmate is processed, they are allocated to one of four wings within the jail. We visited D-Wing, a two-storey wing home to inmates who are in segregation. They need protection from other inmates within the jail, and are typically sex offenders, or high profile prisoners.
It's nicknamed "the bubble", is staffed by three to four officers and houses, at any one point, between 50 and 150 inmates.
Senior Corrections Officer Matthew Buckerfield said the inmates there need to be in protection because of the charges against them or threats that have been made by other inmates.
Inmates can request to be placed in segregation if they are at risk of assault or they can be placed there by staff.
"If we have a problem with someone standing over people, or assaulting them, we put them in here," Mr Buckerfield said.
Like all other inmates, D-Wing inmates have daily access to a phone and are allowed one call a day up to six minutes' duration.
All inmates have 10 phone numbers for family and friends (all heavily vetted) they are allowed to call.
Generally, if they have drama on the outside, it follows them here inside.
- Senior Corrections Officer Matthew Buckerfield
All calls are monitored and the person receiving the call gets a warning the inmate is calling from jail, in case they don't want to take the call. The conversation is always recorded.
Rooms usually sleep two and are fitted out with the most basic necessities.
A room has a toilet and a bed, but that's about it. Makeshift shelves, made out of cardboard boxes, house their personal items, a few library books and maybe a photo of their families.
A TV, which is in a clear case so nothing can be concealed inside, costs about $300, a kettle around $25 and fans go for a similar price.
While in custody, an inmate gets a weekly payment of about $15, equivalent to the dole.
Some inmates are lucky enough to get financial support from family, but if that's not happening,the only way they can buy things, is head to work within the jail.
Industries operating within correctional centres are varied. There's packing shops which package individual toiletries (shampoo, soap, deodorant) which inmates can buy.
Bed sheets and linen are made in house, as are the prison greens the inmates wear (though clothing is not made on site at Bathurst, it comes from another jail).
"The more work we provide, the better; idle hands are the devil's work. The busier an inmate, the less drama he's involved in," Mr Kennedy said.
Shifts are six hours a day, with many of the industries inside running seven days a week. For their efforts, good workers can get up to $80 a week, on a scaled bonus system.
The more work we provide, the better; idle hands are the devil's work. The busier an inmate, the less drama he's involved in.
- Bathurst Jail Governor Mark Kennedy
Mr Kennedy said most of the inmates use their wages for a weekly food buy up, and options include anything from cereal to shampoo and conditioner, but it's limited to $100 a week.
A cell has its own toilet, but shower stalls are at the end of the wing. Despite what people imagine from TV, are now single stalls, with more privacy.
Since individual shower stalls were installed, Mr Kennedy said assaults in shower blocks have fallen, and more inmates are showering more.
The jail also has a main library which inmates access on a weekly basis.
Literacy levels within the jail population vary, so there is a wide range of books to choose from.
There's a law library, which is accessed on a regular basis.
Mr Kennedy said peer support programs also run inside the jail, where inmates can come and teach others skills they have including reading.
He said a similar program is held at Macquarie Correctional Centre, at Wellington, inmate led education classes are held every Sunday, and include a range of classes, from music to art.
There is also a Cultural Strength program for Indigenous inmates, and a dedicated Aboriginal services and programs officer.
Michael Puzicha, a services and program officer within the jail, and part of the high intensity program unit, said the programs aim to reduce recidivism.
"Up to 13 inmates in any one program, we look at things like aggression, domestic violence, addiction.
"Some of the inmates are in the program on a voluntary basis, some are here to fulfill their parole needs."
He said some of the inmates have gone on to university studies and are gainfully employed once outside the jail.
"That's the biggest thing for us they don't work they way back to jail, or at the least, the timing in between offending is longer."
Industries in operation behind bars
Belinda Howes, is a senior overseer who manages a staff of 30 inmates in the kitchen
Here they make ready to eat lunches which are transported to five different jails.
The kitchen works seven days a week, producing meals on six of those days, and doing maintenance and.cleaning on the seventh.
Ms Howes the inmates who are there are a good group of workers.
While the downside to kitchen work is the seven day a week roster, there is a bonus, the inmates get a better lunch then the standard issue, which is a real incentive for them.
A typical breakfast ration includes UHT milk, cornflakes, two sachets of sweetener, a jam and a coffee. They also get seven slices of bread a day, except on a Friday, they get a full loaf, which lasts a weekend.
Lunch is a sandwich or wrap, fruit or yogurt, dinner is a ready to eat meal, like meatballs.
A typical breakfast ration includes UHT milk, cornflakes, two sachets of sweetener, a jam and a coffee. They also get seven slices of bread a day, except on a Friday, they get a full loaf, which lasts a weekend.
Ms Howes said all the kitchen staff do food safety handling courses, and many also do studies with TAFE components, which will help them get work later, when they're on the outside.
Many go on to secure traineeships when they are released.
She said inmates also help manage the centre the way any regular staff member would on the outside.
"They do admin jobs - spreadsheets, keep records, anything related to receiving goods."
"Once they are at work, most really love it," she said.
"It gets them out of the wing, and boosts their morale," she said.
New approach at new jail centre
IN stark contrast to the historic 132-year-old buildings of the Bathurst Jail is the 400-bed Macquarie Correctional Centre, one of two "rapid build" prisons delivered just over two years ago as part of the NSW Government's Better Prisons initiative.
Located beside the existing Wellington Correctional Centre, it's about a 50-kilometre drive south east of Dubbo.
Macquarie, which opened in December 2017, was described as representing a new approach to the design of maximum-security prisons in Australia.
Correctional officers observe multiple dormitories from an upper tier, ensuring that safety and security are not compromised.
Each dormitory has its own showers, toilets, kitchenette, telephones and yard.
Each cubicle, meanwhile, features an interactive television that the inmate can use to plan their education, their work assignment, rehabilitation programs and other paperwork as it is needed.
The jail is considered to be at the forefront of the latest rehabilitation strategies.
Everything in the prison - from the dormitory-style accommodation to the inmates' carefully structured day - is designed to maximise inmate participation.
Inmates at the centre can gain qualifications and experience in a variety of areas, including business, fitness, warehousing, cleaning, operations and hospitality.
Inmates at the centre are either handpicked, or, in some instances, volunteer to be housed within the facility.
Jail staff from across the west
CENTRAL West jails are a major employer for the region.
Staff at Bathurst Correctional Centre are drawn from from Lithgow, Oberon and Orange, while Wellington jail and Macquarie have staff living in Dubbo who make the short commute.
Orange man Matthew Buckerfield drives 40 minutes each way for work as a senior corrections officer at Bathurst but says the travel doesn't bother him at all.
Mr Buckerfield said he loves the job's flexibility and diversity. Like many others, until he started working in the jail he had no idea what life was like behind the walls of a prison.
"Movies and television formed all my opinions. I had no idea the lengths the department goes to to rehabilitate inmates, it's just not about warehousing them," he said.
As a senior officer, Mr Buckerfield oversees other staff, manages inmates' accommodation and does other general duties within the jail.
I had no idea the lengths the department goes to to rehabilitate inmates, it's just not about warehousing them.
- Senior Corrections Officer Matthew Buckerfield
While he admits the job at times can be challenging, Mr Buckerfield said the good far outweighs the bad.
"It's definitely rewarding and the staff look after each other. The camaraderie is good here," he said.
He said it's also a very rewarding job.
"Being part of helping someone (turn their life around), it is rewarding when you've had a personal hand in it," he said.
He said said has has no regrets about his career choice.
"I'm so glad I'm here, I actually wish I'd made the decision to work here a few years earlier," he said.