'Make choices for a better world' is a Girl Guide Law pairing perfectly with Guide Leader and Corrective Services NSW officer, Frances Crown, who sees her role as a catalyst for change.
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Frances joined the Goulburn Correctional Centre six years ago as a services and programs officer (SAPO), after years as an external program provider for Community Corrections.
"It's really my dream job, encouraging people to believe in themselves and to redefine themselves," Ms Crown said.
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"We call it 'the gold' when they have these 'aha' moments and it's very rewarding to see people grow through our programs."
Frances Crown is among 10,000 CSNSW staff celebrated on National Corrections Day, Friday, January 21, for her commitment to community safety, and reducing reoffending.
Her team runs face-to-face behaviour change programs with prisoners to address addiction, domestic and family violence, drink and drug driving, and aggression.
"To promote change, I facilitate a process which encourages prisoners to explore their thinking and behaviours, and develop tools so they don't reoffend," she said.
"We try to make each interaction valuable, motivating offenders to align their behaviours with what is important to them by exploring their values, goals and strengths."
Outside of work, Ms Crown volunteers for Mittagong Girl Guides after being roped in as a leader when her daughter joined the unit in 2014.
"Being part of a team is really important to me and seeing the girls grow or working with them on achievements is lovely," she said.
In the essence of her leader name, 'Frangipani', she handles situations with grace from camping in rain to battling blazes as a Rural Fire Service (RFS) volunteer.
"I joined the RFS when my children were babies because I live in the bush and needed to independently be able to protect my family if fire threatened," she said.
"All women should feel capable, confident and informed when creating their Bush Fire Survival Plan, so I wrote and facilitate a 'Women's Fire Awareness Program' and also mentored other brigades to run it."
The 2022 National Corrections Day theme of Giving back focuses on how our staff go beyond the call of duty to protect the community, mentor staff, fundraise for important charities and contribute to vital community projects and partnerships.
CSNSW includes about 5,000 custodial officers, 1,800 Community Corrections staff, 800 industries workers, 900 psychologists and programs officers and 1,100 Security and Intelligence staff.
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