Sydney jails play an essential part in our criminal justice system, from detaining individuals convicted of crimes to offering rehabilitation programs. This article delves deep into their workings, their historical importance and any challenges or rehabilitation programs they provide.
Faced with increasing concerns over drug use in NSW prisons, visitors now undergo full body scanning while staff use drug dogs; yet detecting hidden drugs remains difficult.
What is a Jail?
Jails are places where those arrested are detained while awaiting trial or sentencing, with prisoners receiving assistance to become law-abiding citizens.
Jails also play an essential role in helping prisoners reintegrate back into society through programs that teach essential life skills such as cooking, cleaning and financial literacy. Jails play an integral part in maintaining public safety and upholding justice.
Inmates are placed into one of several classifications (known as classes or ‘classos’) depending on the nature and gravity of their crime. Those found guilty are given maximum security while those charged but yet to be found guilty are known as remand prisoners.
Find details of inmates within the prison system by researching court records, prison depositions and other documents. The State Library of NSW also maintains indexes for police gazettes dating back to 1862 while death certificates can be purchased online.
Types of Inmates
Jails offer inmates various degrees of security; low security inmates may share cells with maximum or medium security prisoners. Based on crimes and history, inmates are assigned classifications that determine which prison they will go to. Silverwater Correctional Complex in Sydney houses both low and medium security prisoners as well as remand and transit inmates.
Jails also provide programs to assist inmates with rehabilitation and reintegration into society, including educational courses, vocational training and life skills development. Programs available include the Violent Offenders Therapeutic Program, Lifestyles Unit for HIV positive inmates and the CUBIT program targeting sexual offenders.
Though jails have had considerable success reintegrating inmates back into society, they still face numerous challenges. Overcrowding is one such issue which hampers rehabilitation programs and healthcare services; furthermore, prison bureaucracy often makes it hard for lawyers to access clients.
Typical Day in a Jail
Once arrested, an inmate is brought to jail where they will be fingerprinted and given an official mugshot for identification purposes. They then go through an intake process where an interviewer from the corrections department interviews and assesses them mentally health status.
Breakfast for inmates typically occurs between 6:30 and 7:30 AM, followed by a formal inmate count. Following this step, inmates get dressed and meet at the Community Work Squad area to travel by prison van directly to their respective jobs.
Employees work until 3-4 PM, then return to the jail for showers and evening programming such as Freedom Journey Classes or Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. Alternatively, inmates may use gyms, recreation yards or the mailroom before having another formal inmate count at 9:30 PM followed by dimming of lights for bedtime.
Safety and Security
As soon as individuals enter prison, they are classified according to their crime and risk profile and classified into one of five classes (known in prison parlance as “classos”). This identifies which level of security prison they will be placed into as well as how often they are permitted out of their cell.
At correctional centers, visitors will undergo body scanning. This helps ensure their safety as well as that of others within the center; typically the amount of radiation exposure during this process is 1,000-10.000 times lower than with regular medical x-rays.
Silverwater Correctional Complex in Western Sydney accepts individuals sentenced under state and Commonwealth law, housing maximum to minimum security prisoners from maximum to minimum, including remand prisoners such as climate activist Violet Coco and Man Haron Monis who orchestrated the 2014 Sydney siege. Silverwater Correctional Complex holds historic significance as Australia’s first purpose-built penitentiary; additionally it features one of Frederick Neitenstein’s rare back-to-back cells.
