The Goulburn Post got a rare opportunity to see inside the Goulburn Correctional Complex on January 15 – specifically at its Services Industries area.
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This is where inmates are given work and training opportunities to assist in their rehabilitation and help them find jobs upon their release.
It has been shown that if inmates can access vocational training while inside it can assist them in gaining skills and getting a job upon their release.
Gaining a job upon release can improve their chances of not going back to jail by up to 95 per cent.
It is an astounding statistic that Goulburn Correctional Complex manager of industries Mark Derwent shared during a guided tour of the Goulburn Jail’s Corrective Services Industries sections on Tuesday.
“If we can give inmates skills and the opportunity to leave their life of crime – that is life-changing. What we do collectively in all of our roles is extremely important – and that’s the reason I love my job,” Mr Derwent said.
“The work we do is very challenging but I hate to see people throw their lives away behind bars, so I see my work in industries as an opportunity to change that.”
The jail runs a variety of industries that inmates work in, including a laundry, food services, textiles, refurbishing demountables, community projects, a furniture workshop and the Nurra Warra Umer program, which allows Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander inmates to create artefacts and craft work for sale.
Some interesting facts about what they produce:
- inmates in the kitchen prepare up to 2000 meals a day, or 13,000 meals a week and supply other jails across NSW with up to 900,000 lunches and 400,000 dinners per year.
- the textiles section makes up to 145,000 garments a year (including inmate clothing)
- the laundry does 195 tonnes of washing a year
- inmates carry out up to $1 million work on the demountables for the Department of Education each year.
There are 252 inmates employed at the jail and they can earn up to $70 a week (for five days) or $100 (for seven days).
Mr Derwent said they can use the money to buy treats or other food items on the ‘buy up’ days and a popular item was Tim Tam biscuits.
“So, generally they are interested in working because it gives them something to do and also allows them to make some money,” he said.
Inmates can also obtain a variety of qualifications while working, including forklift tickets, crane and dogman tickets, safe asbestos removal and construction White Cards.
With the inmates making their own clothes and preparing their own food it also substantially reduces costs to the NSW taxpayer.
The tour was organised to coincide with the lead up to National Corrections Day, on January 18, which acknowledges the work of over 9000 Corrective Services NSW staff, including custodial officers, overseers, services and programs staff, psychologists and parole officers.
David Cole
Journalist at the Goulburn Post
Journalist at the Goulburn Post
