Corrective Services apologies after inmate wrongfully charged for stealing canned tuna

A ‘tunagate’ scandal in a NSW prison has forced an apology from the state government after an inmate was wrongfully penalised for stealing a can of food.

A “tunagate” scandal has broken out in a NSW correctional centre after an inmate was wrongfully charged for stealing a can of food.

Corrective Services NSW has formally apologised to a prison inmate after he was penalised for allegedly trying to pocket a can of tuna in 2022.

The wrongful charge came after a correctional officer noticed the can of food sliding across a floor near a prison toilet block.

The officer checked CCTV of the area and saw the inmate near the same toilet block at around the same time.

The officer then recorded what she had seen in a misconduct report before the inmate - who at the time of the incident had been employed in the correctional centre’s canteen - was later charged with theft.

The man was wrongfully charged over the incident.

A complaint about the investigation was referred to the powerful NSW Ombudsman, which found there was insufficient evidence to prove the man had stolen the can of food.

The ombudsman – which oversees complaints centred on the NSW public service – also found CCTV footage of the alleged offence could not be reviewed because Corrective Services had failed to retain it.

Corrective Services NSW also did not allow the inmate to call another inmate as a witness during his disciplinary hearing.

The incident was investigated by the NSW Ombudsman.

“The inquiry was determined solely on the basis of the written report made by the prison officer, who was not examined,” a report by the ombudsman stated.

“Corrective Services NSW also contravened its own policy around CCTV footage retention.

“There was no direct evidence that the inmate had stolen the can of food and the circumstantial evidence could reasonably be consistent with the inmate’s innocence.”

As part of his penalty, the inmate was temporarily banned from the prison’s ‘buy up’ program which enables inmates to make discretionary purchases on items such as snack food, drinks, toiletries and nicotine replacement products.

The Ombudsman called on Corrective Services to apologise to the inmate, amend his file to record a finding of ‘not guilty’, and review its retention practices for video footage of correctional centre offences.

A Corrective Services spokesman said all recommendations had been enacted in full to ensure procedural fairness was upheld in future matters.

“Corrective Services NSW welcomes the Ombudsman’s findings on this matter and accepts an error in due process on this occasion.

“Corrective Services NSW encourages all inmates to contact the Ombudsman and raise any issues with them so they can be addressed.”

It is understood Corrective Services had denied the man’s request to call a witness at his hearing as he could only provide the witness’s first name and the officer considered the witness would be “virtually impossible” to find.