Clarence Correctional Centre, Grafton, criticised by Coffs Harbour magistrate

Already plagued with deaths in custody, allegations of officers being assaulted, and dangerous levels of understaffing, the Clarence Correctional Centre has come under fire again.

Plagued with recent deaths in custody, allegations of officers being assaulted, and dangerous levels of understaffing, the Clarence Correctional Centre has come under fire again - this time from a Coffs Harbour magistrate.

Magistrate Ian Rodgers was waiting for an inmate to appear via audiovisual link from the jail on August 18 when he made the remarks, saying the court regularly wastes up to half-an-hour a day waiting for them to be brought on screen.

Clearly frustrated, he described the situation as “atrocious”.

“I don’t know what it is, but something very seriously wrong is going on in that jail,” Mr Rodgers said.

The 1700-bed facility is run by private company, Serco, and was officially opened in June 2020.

Serco has been contacted on several occasions to respond to the recent comments, with a spokeswoman saying they needed to check the court transcript and were trying to contact Mr Rodgers to find out more about the context in which his words were spoken.

They are yet to issue a response.

In May this year The Daily Telegraph revealed allegations of sexual harassment, officers being assaulted, and dangerous levels of understaffing at the privately-run correctional facility.

Whistleblowers inside the centre, alongside senior Corrective Services NSW staff, have lifted the lid on issues surrounding the safety and wellbeing of officers, staff, and inmates.

Inside a cell at the Clarence Correctional Centre.

There were even claims officers were left trapped in yards after the door operating system crashed and that staffing levels were so low, officers were running units with 40-plus inmates on their own.

Deaths in custody

On April 30 a man was found unresponsive in his cell at the facility.

Then in June, a 29-year-old man, who was only freshly on remand, was found unresponsive in the medical holding room before he was later pronounced dead by NSW Police.

Dictor Dongrin was found unresponsive in the Clarence Correctional Centre's Medical Holding room.

He was later revealed to be African-born Dictor Dongrin, remanded in custody with his brother Taban over the alleged assault of their parents.

Investigations are underway into the cause of the deaths.

Former boss speaks out

Former jail boss John Heffernan has spoken out about his concerns in relation to a lack of transparency within the facility and that staff were not paid enough.

John Heffernan has expressed concern about staff safety at the Clarence Correctional Centre.

“Woolies and Coles pay better,” Mr Heffernan said.

At the time, a spokeswoman for Serco Australia responded that Mr Heffernan, also known as the ‘Last Governor’, “has no credibility nor connection to Clarence Correctional Centre.”

At a cost of $800 million the centre was officially opened in June 2020.

At the time general manager Glen Scholes said the new prison will have a significant impact on reducing recidivism in prisoners with one of the keys to success of the model being the utilisation of modern technology, most notably 1700 tablets to be issued to inmates on arrival.