| Can prisons boss Peter Severin perform his own great escape? |
It should not have been a shock to anyone what armed bandit Stephen Jamieson was going to attempt at Goulburn jail.
Already something of a career criminal at just 28 years of age, Jamieson, a maximum security inmate on a 12-year armed hold up sentence, found himself in prison's segregation unit last week after guards uncovered a man-made hole dug in a jail workshop less than three weeks ago.
Jamieson, who had attempted to escape during a previous jail stint back at Parklea in 2008, was one of three prisoners suspected of digging the hole, possibly as part of another break-out attempt.Ray Hadley has been a fierce critic of Peter Severin.
On Tuesday it was third time lucky. Despite being in a segregation unit in a maximum security unit in 2015, Jamieson was able to acquire a hacksaw blade which he then used to cut through a metal gate in his unit's small, supposedly secure, exercise yard.
Then, just like in the movies, Jamieson used bed sheets he had tied together to scale the prison walls, and with a pillow strapped to his waist, manouevred over the razor wire to freedom.
He became the first inmate to escape Goulburn's maximum security prison in 19 years. The last inmate to do so, drug importer George Savvas, escaped in similarly farcical fashion, donning a fake beard and wig, changing into civilian clothes and walking out of the prison from the visitor's centre.
Savvas enjoyed eight months of freedom before being arrested while enjoying steak and a glass of red at a swanky inner-city restaurant.
Jamieson got out for just 12 hours before he was recaptured by police following a pursuit in south-west Sydney, but the ramifications of his escape are likely to be felt for a lot longer.
Corrective Services Commissioner Peter Severin said he was shocked when informed Jamieson had escaped. Those who worked with him that afternoon during the fallout from the escape said the usually mild-mannered prisons boss was angry.
"It was a very serious incident, it is something that should not happen at a maximum security facility, and there is a great concern that it did happen," Mr Severin told Fairfax Media. An external review has been ordered into security at Goulburn prison with the findings to come back within weeks.
It was a further headache for a prisons boss who is already burdened with a number of big challenges in the state's jails.
Mr Severin has to deal with a prison population that is at a record high of more than 11,600 inmates and continuing to rise. The adult prison population rose by more than 12 per cent in the last financial year and the forecast is that it will continue to grow. Jail beds are already in short supply and at times inmates have to be left overnight at police stations and courthouses.
The Kirkconnell correctional centre, located near Bathurst and closed by the O'Farrell government in 2011, was reopened at the start of August to try and help address prison overcrowding. Three weeks later the 260-bed facility is almost at capacity.
On top of that the entirety of Corrective Services has been on tenterhooks after what has been dubbed one of the biggest policy changes in recent times – a smoking ban in jails which was implemented a fortnight ago.
A similar ban in Victoria implemented in June was the catalyst for a massive jail yard riot involving more than 300 inmates and lasting more than 15 hours at Melbourne's Ravenhall prison.
Mr Severin and the NSW government are cautiously optimistic about how the ban's introduction has gone so far in NSW, but the threat of prisoner unrest is not over.
The problem of illicit drug use by inmates has resurfaced, driven mainly by the availability and use of ice. For the first time in at least a decade drugs was this year on the agenda of the national corrective service commissioner's meeting.
And then there is a campaign in some sections of the media – and Severin himself concedes that's shared by some within Corrective Services – to undermine him in his role.
His detractors call him the worst name you could possible call a prison boss: soft.
In July Mr Severin was criticised after the man serving life for the rape and murder of nine-year-old Ebony Simpson at Bargo south-west of Sydney in 1992 was downgraded from an A-grade maximum security prisoner to B-grade, allowing him to apply for prison jobs and enroll in courses in jail. Ebony's mother, Christine Simpson, rightly voiced her outrage. Severin said this week that changes have already been made to the way Corrective Services engages with victim's families.
The issue however only added to what Severin says is a misconception that he is soft.
"I know that there have been concepts bandied about of softness," he said.
"It's really the first time in my professional life that I have been called that."
Sydney radio host Ray Hadley has been a fierce critic of Severin almost since the day he became commissioner. Hadley was close to Severin's predecessor, the "tough old nut" Ron Woodham, a brash prison boss straight out of central casting.
Hadley also has a vendetta against the man who appointed Severin, former NSW attorney-general Greg Smith. Jamieson's escape gave Hadley another chance to beat up on him.
"He's a myth this bloke, an absolute myth," Hadley told listeners to his top-rating morning show on Wednesday, the day after Jamieson's escape.
"Peter Severin is a social engineer, he should resign."
NSW Premier Mike Baird was, unsurprisingly, unimpressed with Jamieson's escape. "It's totally unacceptable and I think, like every member of the community, when I saw that I was gobsmacked and we need to ensure that it doesn't happen again," Mr Baird said.
But Severin isn't going anywhere. He is understood to not only have the confidence of the NSW government but he has impressed with how he is addressing some of the major issues within corrections.
There is an infrastructure plan to deal with the prison bed shortage, including the use of modular, portable prison cells for medium security prisoners that can be moved around the state where needed.
An external review is now being undertaken into security at Goulburn jail, and while never downplaying the seriousness of Jamieson's escape, Severin points out that last year there were seven escapees from NSW prisons, all from minimum security, and the lowest figure in three decades. Twenty years ago there were 179.
But the biggest challenge Severin might have is shaking the "softness" tag.
He knows that a big part of what he does is public perception and he takes note of much of the criticism, although says he never listens to Hadley.
"What I need to do is provide leadership and direction to ensure that people can do their jobs well."
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