EXTRACT FROM MY BOOK
“CUTTING THE BARS – VOLUME 2”
My Brother’s Story
I was discussing this case with my brother Phillip recently, when he told me this little story concerning Kevin Gary Crump and Allan Baker.
Laurie Rawlings was the Night Senior on the “C” watch, (afternoon shift), in the Metropolitan Reception Prison (MRP), after Crump and Baker had been arrested and were attending trial. Mr Rawlings was a really nice bloke, always smiling and loved a bit of fun and Gaol gossip, as did I. He was one of the real characters of the Long Bay prison complex and a Night Senior with whom most of the prison officers enjoyed working. He was a down to earth, all round very decent type of bloke.My brother Phillip was relatively new to the job and was working on the circle with the “heavy”, whose name he could not recall, however for the sake of the story we will call him Mr Neville, (just a classic case of seeing the face but can’t remember the name). Crump and Baker had returned from court and were escorted back to 9 Wing where they were to pick up their meal and be locked in their cell for the night. In the early 1970’s, 9 Wing was strictly for “protection prisoners” and “non associates”, a terminology used mainly for transsexuals. Crump and Baker’s meals had already been saturated with spit from the wing sweepers which was a common occurrence for prisoners who had committed heinous crimes against women or children, most especially child sex offenders who were commonly referred to as “rock spiders”. Before the meals could be issued, Mr Rawlings said, “These meals are too hot for these prisoners”, and promptly picked them up and put them out in the rain for a few minutes.
Crump and Baker were handed their meals and placed in their cells. Mr Neville and my brother Phillip went to the cell where Mr Neville ordered Crump and Baker to, “Get up and face the back wall”. Phillip told me, “Mr Neville spat on Crump and Baker and so did I. “As we walked out of the wing, Mr Neville turned to me and said ‘I’ve never spat on a man before in my life’. Phillip replied to Mr Neville, “Neither have I, so don’t worry about it”.
You may well be entitled to ask what would make three normally very decent men do what they did to these two prisoners, risking the chance of disciplinary action being taken against them. Had they done the same in today’s prison system, their actions would most certainly result in instant dismissal.
This type of behaviour from officers and prisoners alike towards Crump and Baker was not an isolated incident, remembering it was the early 1970’s. Although I do not condone what these three officers did, or any others who may have carried out similar actions, I fully understand their motivation. Kevin Crump and Allan Baker committed the worst crimes against a human being that I have ever heard of, and I believe the most insidious crimes ever carried out in Australian history. These two men must be kept in the highest security conditions the state of New South Wales can offer, and never be release from gaol, regardless of any circumstances that may arise in the future. They must die in prison and should be buried face down, in an unmarked grave.
To find out the entire confronting story of these two “butchers”, who in my mind committed Australia’s worst crime against another human being in the country’s criminal history, read pages 19 to 29 of “Cutting the Bars – Volume 2”.
