Australia Behind Bars is a new series taking viewers behind the high walls and barbed wire to reveal the harsh reality of life on the inside in three maximum security prisons. The observational documentary series gives insight into the world where you’re either in Green (prison inmates) or Blue (corrections officers).
In the series’ first episode we get a glimpse into this Green and Blue divide where correctional officers must focus on the daily reality of keeping one step ahead of the inmates.
Contraband, either secretly made in cells or smuggled in by family and friends, includes deadly weapons, tattoo guns, rope, homebrew alcohol, and even excess bedsheets.
In the incident of a prison fire, bedsheets become fuel, which is why there’s a strict cell limit of two sheets per inmate.
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“The last thing you want is a group of inmates attacking another group of inmates armed with a shiv,” explained Dave, a Security Functional Manager at Wellington Prison. “You’ve got to have rules and a line in the sand.”
The Immediate Action Team is an elite group of correctional officers who are the first to respond to incidents that occur in the gaol. They are also responsible for conducting targeted searches on inmates’ cells to find contraband.
In one regular cell search, the IAT found homemade brewed alcohol in a water bottle. Inmates often use fruit, like apples and pears, fermented with bread slices to create alcohol. It’s unknown how strong this homebrew can be, but officers assume it’s very alcoholic.
Family and friend visits are an important part of any daily prison operations. Strong family bonds are proven to reduce reoffending. Visits are precious moments for inmates, but correctional officers know that this is when contraband, particularly drugs are smuggled in.
In a tense time for corrections officers, an inmate overdosed on heroin, which had been illegally smuggled in during one of these visits.
“When you’re an addict, you’re an addict,” Australia Behind Bars narrator Melissa Doyle told 9Entertainment. “You see these corrections officers, what they’re trying to contend with and what the inmates are going through and the raids to try to keep contraband out, and how that’s their biggest challenge. During COVID when the prison goes into lockdown, the impact that has on prisoners. That those that are separated from seeing their families and that break-in hope, that’s really hard. But then also suddenly contraband isn’t available because it’s not getting in.”
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Thankfully, the overdosed inmate survived the ordeal, with corrections officers arriving on the scene in time to call a paramedic.
“Unfortunately a number of inmates do have drug problems and they do try and smuggle them into the goal,” Governor Emma Smith said. “It’s a security risk for both my staff and my inmates.”
