Tim Watson-Munro was a young Prison psychologist working at Parramatta Prison in the 1970’s. Although I had met him, I doubt that he would remember me and it’s fair to say that I do not know him.
In 1978 I was training recruit prison officers at Silverwater to work in Parramatta Gaol. I visited Parramatta Gaol on a very regular basis for training and orientation purposes for my trainee prison officers. It was there that I met Tim. He was largely responsible for conducting one of the most successful prisoner rehabilitation programs I have witnessed.
A Judge or Magistrate would sentence a first time prisoner to one day in gaol at Parramatta. Parramatta Gaol was a very old, convict built prison that was commenced in 1833. It was built of sandstone and to my mind is a stately group of historic buildings.
The idea behind this rehabilitation program was to show first time prisoners what gaols are really about. The young offender would present himself to the main gate early in the morning. He would be processed like all other prisoners having a description sheet taken, completely stripped searched, placed in prison greens complete with a prison number which was the system in the 1970’s. The prisoner was brought before the Superintendent where he was informed of the prison routine. He was then escorted to an area where he would be given mundane tasks such as polishing brass and locks. He would spend time on Parramatta’s Intractable Circle, locked in a yard completely on his own. He would be fed the normal prison food and locked in a cell for some time over the lunch break.
Following the lunch break, the young offender would be subjected to a group committee, made up of very heavy and dangerous prisoners, chaired by Tim Watson-Munro and with a prison officer or two also present.
During this group session, the prisoners would tell him what prison was really like and what their personal experiences were leaving nothing to the imagination including the possibility of being raped. At the end of the day, the young offender was released to freedom. Most realised that they were very fortunate and never returned to their former criminal ways.
The do-gooders however, thought in their wisdom that a day in prison was too harsh and the program was soon dropped. Perhaps those do-gooders might reflect that the young offenders who are not afforded the opportunity to see for themselves that prisons are not holiday camps as the media may portray them will continually be going through the revolving door of the criminal justice system.
You can read more about this rehabilitation program and others in my eBook Australia’s Best Prison Stories, available through this web page or Amazon.
Please take the opportunity to view the attached sixty minutes segment on the above rehabilitation program.
This I believe.
Peter T. Egge
In 1978 I was training recruit prison officers at Silverwater to work in Parramatta Gaol. I visited Parramatta Gaol on a very regular basis for training and orientation purposes for my trainee prison officers. It was there that I met Tim. He was largely responsible for conducting one of the most successful prisoner rehabilitation programs I have witnessed.
A Judge or Magistrate would sentence a first time prisoner to one day in gaol at Parramatta. Parramatta Gaol was a very old, convict built prison that was commenced in 1833. It was built of sandstone and to my mind is a stately group of historic buildings.
The idea behind this rehabilitation program was to show first time prisoners what gaols are really about. The young offender would present himself to the main gate early in the morning. He would be processed like all other prisoners having a description sheet taken, completely stripped searched, placed in prison greens complete with a prison number which was the system in the 1970’s. The prisoner was brought before the Superintendent where he was informed of the prison routine. He was then escorted to an area where he would be given mundane tasks such as polishing brass and locks. He would spend time on Parramatta’s Intractable Circle, locked in a yard completely on his own. He would be fed the normal prison food and locked in a cell for some time over the lunch break.
Following the lunch break, the young offender would be subjected to a group committee, made up of very heavy and dangerous prisoners, chaired by Tim Watson-Munro and with a prison officer or two also present.
During this group session, the prisoners would tell him what prison was really like and what their personal experiences were leaving nothing to the imagination including the possibility of being raped. At the end of the day, the young offender was released to freedom. Most realised that they were very fortunate and never returned to their former criminal ways.
The do-gooders however, thought in their wisdom that a day in prison was too harsh and the program was soon dropped. Perhaps those do-gooders might reflect that the young offenders who are not afforded the opportunity to see for themselves that prisons are not holiday camps as the media may portray them will continually be going through the revolving door of the criminal justice system.
You can read more about this rehabilitation program and others in my eBook Australia’s Best Prison Stories, available through this web page or Amazon.
Please take the opportunity to view the attached sixty minutes segment on the above rehabilitation program.
This I believe.
Peter T. Egge
