St Heliers prison: Dumaresq inmates smuggling fresh veggies into jail

Carrots are the new ciggies in this NSW jail, with crims smuggling in contraband fresh veggies over complaints the canned variety is not up to their taste.

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Prisoners in a NSW jail are so desperate for good food behind bars they are reportedly using their own money to buy and smuggle fresh veggies into the facility.

Inmates in the Dumaresq wing at the St Heliers Correctional Centre, on the outskirts of Muswellbrook, said they have been “disciplined” for taking vegetables from the minimum security section’s farm, according to an Inspector of Custodial Services report released this month.

The fresh produce is grown, packed and distributed from the jail as part of their rehabilitation process, however, prisoners are instead sneaking the food into their quarters and turning away the meals offered up by Corrective Services Industries (CSI) over complaints they only have access to canned veggies.

The farm at St Heliers, which is run by low-security inmates at the Dumaresq wing. Prisoners there have been taking the fresh produce back to their cells. Picture: Supplied.

“In the centres inspected inmates are not only spending their own money to supplement or replace meals; there is also wastage of CSI meals,” the report states.

The 92-page review into four NSW prisons claims jail officials are worried that allowing Dumaresq inmates access to fresh veggies would lead to them being “smuggled” as contraband into the higher security compound of the jail.

The low-risk prisoners at St Heliers enjoy the privilege of being allowed to prepare their own food while serving out their sentences.

The Muswellbrook facility houses the low-risk inmates who have bemoaned about their food options.

Those in the minimum security Dumaresq section are also permitted to purchase up to $27 worth of meat a week from their own wallets but not fresh vegetables, a move the inspector described as “perplexing”.

“It does not seem unreasonable to allow minimum security inmates to purchase fresh vegetables,” the report said.

The investigation into the claims found prisoners at St Heliers were picking and choosing from the meals served up by Corrections and throwing the rest away.

The Dumaresq wing, pictured, has housed former HIH boss Rodney Adler.

Some of the criminals had alleged there was an insufficient supply of meals in general to the lower-security wing.

The Inspector was unable to investigate those claims over the complexity revolving around inmates collecting and ordering meals for each other, but flagged the potential for low-risk wings in regional prisons to be fully self-catered in the future.

“It would be better to see some privileged accommodation blocks in minimum security areas such as Dumaresq quarantined from CSI cook chill or cook-freeze food, and focus entirely on a self-catering basis,” the report said.

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