Inside NSW jails with Nick: The cracked perspex and the threat to his family
Bonafide with Luke BonaShow Notes
If you heard our full episode on 2 October, you have already had this one. This is Luke's chat with Nick on its own, for anyone who just wants the prison stories.
Nick was a NSW prison officer for 15 years, at Lithgow and at the women's jail at Emu Plains. In B unit, he watched an inmate crack the perspex with a pool ball, and he tells Luke why he says three months of training was mostly about paperwork.
He explains why officers walk the yard unarmed and why he says they couldn't properly search visitors' prams. Then there's the inmate who threatened his family. Nick's view is that most prisoners don't want to be rehabilitated. The ones who do, like the woman who left jail a qualified chef, get there because they want the help, he says.
This interview contains strong language. It discusses sexual assault in prison, domestic violence and the death of a prison officer.
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00:00 Should prisoners get a second chance? 01:46 Why the inmates called Nick Chief 02:45 Why he swapped his own business for a prison job 04:45 Trapped in B unit when the perspex cracked 07:14 Three months of training, signed off on paper 08:02 The officer who died at Silverwater 09:00 Double shifts and big overtime 10:31 His sister, assaulted at Parramatta Gaol 11:06 Unarmed in a yard of 30 inmates 13:40 Why officers couldn't search prams 14:48 Who really controls a jail? 16:22 Case management with no training 17:45 The inmates who care for injured wildlife 18:53 Should prisoners be paid $25 an hour? 19:30 The kiss that smuggled drugs into Lithgow 21:35 Corrupt officers: blue, not green 22:22 Why lifers are the easiest to manage 23:53 Why he'd rather work with maximum security men 25:10 What men fear most about going to jail 26:26 The inmate who walked out a chef 28:12 Knives in the kitchen and a Shawshank moment 29:55 Why are Indigenous Australians over-represented? 32:21 Do prisoners want to be rehabilitated? 34:08 The inmate who threatened his family 36:32 Seen as weak, or called a dog 38:30 The prisoners who come back for the security 40:16 Should prisoners have to work? 41:29 Get out of the job or I'm divorcing you
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