Take an inside look at the South Coast Correctional Centre

Notorious criminals call this Nowra prison home but for more than 300 employees, prison business is all in a day’s work. Let Corrections staff show you what life is really like behind bars.

They work with some of the state’s most notorious criminals everyday, but little is known about the work prison officers do behind the walls of South Coast Correctional Centre.

Each day 340 staff arrive at the jail to work with more than 700 inmates, who are split across, minimum, medium and maximum security wings.

This week, those staffers allowed us access to corners of this Nowra prison rarely visited by outsiders.

Up to 700 inmates . Pictures: Madeline Crittenden.

Inmates at South Coast Correctional Centre. Picture: Madeline Crittenden

Inside the new minimum security wing, corrections staff work with inmates to try and curb reoffending, both through culturally specific programs and industry jobs.

Up to 32 per cent of the jail population is indigneous and the jail has launched a series of programs and cultural activities to rehabilitate inmates.

MEET STAN JARRETT

Stan Jarrett has worked at the Nowra jail since it first opened 10 years ago, and is the facility’s Aboriginal Services and Programs officer.

“I take these offenders on a journey of cultural navigation because once they know their mob and identity, it builds confidence in them to want to change their behaviour,” he said.

“The yarning circle is a very important cultural strengthening exercise because I sit down with the men on a human level, away from the whiteboard and in an environment where we can build respect.”

Stan Jarrett believes learning about mob and identity builds confidence. Pictures: Madeline Crittenden.

‘SOME OF THESE BLOKES HAVE NEVER WORKED A DAY IN THEIR LIVES’

Like Mr Jarrett, functional manager of the minimum security wing Glenn Cochrane is passionate about giving inmates a second chance at life.

More than 50 minimum security inmates are employed across a variety of industries at the jail, including furniture building, technology and assembly, ground maintenance, hygiene and food service with each designed to give them skills and experience for life outside.

Inmates can also work in the laundry, which not only services the jail, but also local businesses and AirBnBs across the region.

“While it might look a bit tedious, one of the things we've discovered is that some of these blokes have never worked a day in their lives,” Mr Cochrane said.

“They don’t know about getting up and going to work in the morning, having to work to a performance standard and having to work for a couple of hours before taking a break, so this gives them the opportunity to put something back into the community and they learn skills they can take outside.”

An inmate in the minimum security yard. Picture: Madeline Crittenden

Guards gather in one of the yards. Picture: Madeline Crittenden

INSIDE A PRISON ‘POD’

The Illawarra Star took a look inside the minimum security wing of the jail, where inmates live in buildings known as “pods”.

Inside each pod is a living room area with a TV and kitchen, plus several small rooms for each inmate.

The pods surround the yard, where inmates exercise and sit together while not at work.

An inmate’s room inside one of the minimum security pods. Pictures: Madeline Crittenden

Two inmates inside a pod. Picture: Madeline Crittenden

NATIONAL CORRECTIONS DAY

This year’s National Corrections Day carries with it the theme of reducing reoffending.

South Coast Correctional Centre Governor Larry Bolger said it was important to remember the important, rewarding and sometimes dangerous work prison staff do everyday.

“The world of corrections staff is quite diverse and different, you never know what's going to be thrown at you when you get here in the morning,” he said.

“The fact that our work is done behind a five foot concrete wall means nobody gets to see it, so nobody gets to really appreciate it.”