MEDIA RELEASE
Tuesday, 6 September 2011
3pm
PRISONS TO CLOSE
Parramatta, Kirkconnell and Berrima Correctional Centres will close by the end of the year following an unprecedented drop in the prison population.
All inmates from those centres will be relocated by December 2011 and staff will be redeployed in a process that will save the State Government an estimated $26 million per annum.
There were 11,224 prison beds available at the end of August but only 9,847 inmates. That’s down from 10,400 in June last year.
Consultation with unions commenced in July to discuss the closure of between 600 and 650 beds and the need to find savings across the organisation. Parramatta prison was partially closed in September last year when three of its six wings were shut. The building is 169 years old.
Voluntary redundancy packages, redeployment and additional training have been offered to all staff and every attempt is being made to backfill positions.
Commissioner Ron Woodham said support teams including senior HR managers will attend all three centres over the next month to offer advice and support in regard to employment options.
The Commissioner has written personally to all staff at Parramatta, Berrima and Kirkconnell advising them of the organisational changes.
There has already been a significant response to the latest round of voluntary redundancy packages which closed on August 26.
One hundred and eighty offers have already been approved and sent out to interested staff.
Staff were personally informed of the closures today.
Parramatta
- 200 inmates are currently housed at Parramatta Correctional Centre which has the capacity to hold 580 inmates. They will be relocated to vacant beds at the Metropolitan Remand and Reception Centre, Silverwater, Long Bay, Parklea, Bathurst and the South Coast Correctional Centre.
- A total of 143 staff from Parramatta Correctional Centre will be redeployed or offered voluntary redundancies due to the closure of this centre. Where vacancies exist, staff will be transferred around the State to backfill positions.
- The future of the facility will be reviewed by the State Property Authority due to the buildings historic and heritage significance. The prison will close following a staged reduction before Christmas.
Berrima
- Berrima Correctional Centre holds 75 inmates and has a current prison population of 60 inmates. Most of these female prisoners will be relocated to Dillwynia and Emu Plains Correctional Centres.
- The 49 staff currently based at Berrima will be redeployed or offered voluntary redundancy.
- All community projects currently being undertaken by inmates will not only continue but be expanded. An operational plan has been developed to assign the programs to offenders on Community Service Orders and Intensive Corrections Orders. Additional support will be provided by Goulburn Correctional Centre. These programs are a vital rehabilitation tool for offenders and an important service to the community. A plan has been put in place to ensure the service provided by Corrective Services NSW (CSNSW) continues.
- The prison will be closed by early November 2011.
Kirkconnell
- Kirkconnell has the capacity to house 250 inmates, the current population being 170 inmates. All of these inmates will be relocated to the minimum security wings at Bathurst and Long Bay.
- 57 staff at the centre will be redeployed or offered voluntary redundancies. Every attempt is being made to accommodate the requests of officers at the centre.
- The Pups in Prison program will remain at Kirkconnell in the immediate short term before being relocated to Emu Plains Correctional Centre, to accommodate the highly successful program.
- All community projects currently being undertaken by inmates will not only continue but be expanded. An operational plan has been developed to assign the programs to offenders on Community Service Orders and Intensive Corrections Orders. Additional support will be provided by Bathurst Correctional Centre inmates. These programs are a vital rehabilitation tool for offenders and a critical service to the community. A plan has been put in place to ensure the service provided by CSNSW continues.
- The facility will be closed early December 2011.
Neera Sahni, Research Services Leader, Parramatta Heritage Centre, City of Parramatta, 2021
References:
Corrective Services NSW. (2011). "Prisons to close". (Press release). Retrieved on 09/03/2020