Legal experts are calling for sanctions against private prison operator Serco after the company punished nearly 200 inmates at Clarence correctional centre in New South Wales in an “unreasonable and oppressive” manner. The incident followed the assault of a guard by a single inmate on 21 September 2023. Serco responded by locking down 175 prisoners in one section of the jail for five days, despite most having no involvement in the incident.
The NSW ombudsman deemed Serco's actions unlawful and disproportionate.
In addition to the lockdown, Serco charged 34 inmates with offences related to the assault, although the ombudsman found insufficient evidence to justify these charges. Three inmates were placed in segregation for allegedly inciting a riot, despite CCTV footage showing no such activity. Additionally, 33 inmates were placed on restrictive "behaviour management contracts," confining them to their cells for up to 22 hours a day for as long as eight weeks. The ombudsman noted that Serco failed to provide adequate support for one inmate with a cognitive impairment during its investigations.
The release of the ombudsman’s report has intensified calls for the NSW government to reconsider its reliance on private prison operators, with discussions underway to return Clarence and Parklea correctional centres to public management. Barrister Greg Barns SC, of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, criticised Serco’s actions as disproportionate and called for the company to face financial penalties to ensure private contractors adhere to legal standards.
The NSW Council of Civil Liberties president, Lydia Shelly, said Serco should “absolutely” face consequences.
“There needs to be a broader examination of the culture that allows things like this to have happened in the first place, perhaps the government needs to examine whether or not private corporations need to be fined when they’ve been engaging in conduct which has been found to be punitive, oppressive and that has caused people harm.”
The Minns government on Friday announced it would invest $30m into the state’s prisons to make them safer for inmates and staff as it begins responding to the recommendations from a special inquiry into former prison guard and convicted rapist Wayne Astill.
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