Senior female jail officer suspended over prison inmate affair claims

A senior female prison officer has been stood down over claims she was having an affair with a prisoner at the Macquarie Correctional Centre.

A senior female prison officer has been suspended from the Macquarie Correctional Centre.

A senior female prison officer from a maximum security jail has been suspended as police investigate claims she was having an inappropriate relationship with an inmate.

The officer and inmate are from Macquarie Correctional Centre near Wellington in the State’s central-west.

A prison source alleged the inmate had been caught trying to buy flowers for the officer and had also been involved in a three-way phone conversation with her and a friend.

Prisoners are only permitted to make calls to people who have been pre-approved by authorities.

It is understood the inmate called an approved friend who called the prison officer to enable the pair to chat.

The identity of the inmate has yet to be confirmed.

A Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman said the organisation took a “zero-tolerance approach” to inappropriate relationships between staff and inmates.

“All staff complete mandatory training in maintaining professional boundaries to strengthen awareness of possible grooming situations, whether involving themselves or colleagues,” she said.

“The majority of our 10,000 staff do the right thing in a difficult line of work, keeping the people of NSW safe and secure.”