Elite NSW Police unit boycotting Parklea Jail due to corruption and safety concerns

A POLICE intelligence unit is refusing to conduct specialist operations at a Sydney jail because it is being “run like the (Sylvester) Stallone movie Lock Up”.

Police have claimed Parklea Jail is being “run like the Sylvester Stallone movie Lock Up”.

A POLICE intelligence unit is refusing to conduct specialist operations at a Sydney jail because it is being “run like the (Sylvester) Stallone movie Lock Up”.

Concerns about corrupt guards, out-of-control inmates and mismanagement have emerged at Parklea Correctional Centre after a recent string of incidents, including videos made by a drugged-up inmate, a guard’s keys being stolen and the stabbing of a prison officer.

The situation has now deteriorated to the point where squad members are refusing to set foot inside the prison, worried about being compromised by inmates and guards, or left in unsafe areas by poorly trained staff.

Inside Parklea Jail.

The squad, whose work involves an element of risk and a considerable degree of planning, recently knocked back a request from the Middle Eastern Organised Crime Squad to work at the privately operated prison because of safety concerns.

“It’s a disgrace,” said a law enforcement official familiar with the situation.

“It’s being run like the Stallone movie Lock Up.”

The jail was dragged into the spotlight when a prison officer was stabbed with a makeshift knife on September 28. Fortunately he survived when it struck his name badge, deflecting onto his arm.

Back in July a video emerged of an inmate boasting about having crudely made weapons and drugs inside his cell.

He also claimed guards were being paid off to smuggle mobile phones to prisoners, with subsequent raids uncovering devices stashed in various cells.

Just seven months earlier an inmate leaving Parklea allegedly stole a guard’s keys, forcing the jail to change some of its locks.

In response to the embarrassing security bungles, Corrective Services NSW put a governor in place to review the prison processes over four weeks.

However, that seems to have instilled little confidence in intelligence unit, which The Sunday Telegraph has agreed not to identify.

Sylvester Stallone in his 1989 movie Lock Up.

GEO Group Australia, which took over operation of the jail in 2009, denied any breakdown in relations with the police team.

“The relationship between the Parklea team and the specialist unit is first class,” spokesman Ken Davis said.

“We have never heard of, or been notified of any dissatisfaction with our leads or support of their efforts.

“We have worked with them very closely on numerous occasions.”

Correctives Services said it had not received a formal complaint from police but “any issues raised would be investigated”.

Nicole Jess, from the Public Service Association, said cost cutting at the 800-man prison had led to staff shortages.

“The main issue with Parklea is when you have a private company, the only way they can make money is to cut costs,” she said. “It becomes an unsafe environment, hence you have officers, like we did last week, stabbed.”

Ms Jess said the PSA was yet to hear the results of the security review conducted earlier in the year.

NSW Police declined to comment.