I would have thought by now that the New South Wales Premier, the Minister for Corrective Services and the NSW Parliament in general would be embarrassed by the mismanagement of their prison system. I was disturbed to read in the Sydney Daily Telegraph on 28th September 2017, that a young prison officer was stabbed by a 29 year old prisoner.
Mr Peter Severin has learned nothing from the history of Parklea Prison. It was in 3 Wing in this very prison that I was attacked by prisoner William Booth with a knife on 20th June 1985, some 32 years ago. Seemingly nothing has changed. You can read more about this incident in my first eBook, It’s All in the Fall.
There are Occupational Health & Safety laws that all employers, (including Mr Severin of the Department of Corrective Services), are required to strictly abide by, regardless of the perceived dangers in the prison environment.
All prison officers are entitled to go home at the end of their shift in exactly the same condition as when they left home, prior to their shift.
The Premier has shown no outward signs of support for prison officers who are carrying out a hard, dangerous and thankless job.
Please Premier Berejiklian! It is time to remove Mr Severin and his team of do gooders. Stop wasting Government funds on unproven schemes in the name of rehabilitation and spend that money more wisely on first time young offenders.
This I believe
Peter T Egge
