Exclusive look inside the $180m, 300 bed Yatala Labour Prison development
Ever wondered what life is like behind the walls of Yatala Labour Prison? It’s about to get a lot more comfortable for inmates. We give you an exclusive look at the $180m jail renovation.
SA News
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The inside of the new Yatala Labour Prison redevelopment, at first blush, is closer in resemblance to a university lobby than a high-security jail.
Natural light shines from skylights in the high ceilings, large windows offer views of the sky and seats are dotted around tables in the common area.
There is even an array of chairs set before a large flat screen embedded in the wall.
Aside from the concrete entry ways and maximum security to even get into the building, one of the first clues that not all is what it seems is the realisation the chairs weigh 40kg.
Astonishingly heavy and designed in such a way that they have no real handholds, the chairs are the just the start of what lies in store for prisoners in the new redevelopment.
Two new communal units will house 208 prisoners, across two buildings and four different wings.
Each of the wings, which houses 52 prisoners are near mirror images of each other.
Two man cells line the walls on two levels.
Inside the cells the conditions are spartan but not uncomfortable. Two small beds with televisions positioned on small shelves on the end of the bed.
The televisions are specially designed to have entirely transparent cases so no contraband can be stored inside.
The same is so for the remote controls and just about every other item in the prison – including toothpaste which is clear and comes in a clear plastic tube.
The cells have a shower – the first of their kind to have such an amenity in the prison.
The new cells are positive luxury compared to cells only a hundred metres away in the heritage listed original prison buildings, which, until the 1990s, did not even have toilets in the cells.
The new buildings are a far cry from the old prison divisions and it is possible to see the oldest and the newest prison facilities with only a slight turn of the head.
Each of the wings has its own small yard area where the prisoners can go outside during their time out of cell.
A third building – Mirnu – will house 66 prisoners in therapeutic and rehabilitative accommodation and will provide services designed to break cycles of incarceration.
A new operations building will bring much of the daily life of the prison out of the older areas and closer to the front entrance of the facility.
A new commercial kitchen will eventually provide all the prisons food needs, a video conferencing facility will more than triple the number of suites and visitor rooms will be open seven days a week, rather than two.
Linking all the buildings together are specially designed secure walkways where Corrections officers are not required to guide prisoners.
Rather they are monitored by camera and corralled wherever they need to be sent.
Corrections Minister Joe Szakacs said the $180m development was an investment in the future safety of South Australia.
“The new infrastructure provides many new opportunities and benefits for Yatala, the staff who work there, and those persons in custody there,” he said.
First prisoners are expected to be introduced to the new facility in July.
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