Come 7 o’clock weeknights, chances are you’ll find inmates at Unanderra’s Illawarra Reintegration Centre (IRC) in front of the TV watching Home and Away.
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They might be grown men and, in some cases, nearing the end of lengthy prison terms, but they, too, don’t mind a good dose of drama.
Watching the Aussie soap has become somewhat of a ritual for many of the inmates – possibly offering a glimpse at the outside world they’re preparing to re-enter, and the freedom that’s getting closer each day.
“A lot of them like Home and Away,” said IRC acting manager of security, Glenn Cochrane.
“On occasions, we’ve had a bit of a problem with our antenna, with our TV reception, and they were accusing us of fiddling with it, because it always occurred at 7 o’clock when Home and Away [started]. They do get quite into it.”
The insight into life on the inside came as the Mercury was given a behind-the-bars look at the minimum-security facility ahead of National Corrections Day on Friday.
The day, in its second year, pays homage to frontline corrections staff and offers the public a glimpse into their challenging – and often dangerous – roles.
This year’s theme, Working Corrections, shines the light on the efforts of prison industries and community-service work teams to rehabilitate offenders.
As its name suggests, the Unanderra facility – which opened in June, 2017, and houses 60 inmates – focuses on reintegrating inmates into the community and reducing rates of reoffending.
On any given day, you’ll find Peter Fitzgerald out in the community, flanked by a team of inmates building garden beds, mending fences or installing bench seats at a soccer club.
The 36-year-old works as part of the IRC’s community projects team, which performs building, maintenance and grounds-keeping work at 19 sites across the region.
On Thursday, nine inmates helped set up for this weekend’s Albion Park show.
Others, part of a maintenance team, mowed lawns and tidied the grounds at the Lady Pehryn Drive jail site.
The community projects team is led by Mark Gallagher. Mr Gallagher joined Correctives Services NSW (CSNSW) in 2008 and has held roles at Long Bay, Silverwater and Nowra jails.
The 46-year-old qualified landscaper has spent the past decade as a senior overseer, sharing his skills with inmates.
The role was not so much about changing lives, Mr Gallagher said, rather giving inmates the chance to do that themselves.
“You can’t make inmates change, but if you get inmates who want to learn some skills then we can teach them and give them that experience,” he said.
The community projects team has worked for about 30 organisations and provided more than 14,000 hours of labour since October, 2017.
Andrew Pearson
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
Andrew grew up in the western Riverina town of Hay and has strong ties to the region. He is a former DA journo who has a passion for breaking news and has covered everything from council and politics to crime and court.
