Cessnock Prison Officer Charged With Assault

 BY IAN CROUCH

A Correctional Officer has been charged over an alleged assault on a male inmate at Cessnock Gaol.

The Corrective Services Investigation Unit has been looking into the incident which allegedly occurred in January.

As a result, a 46-year-old man was arrested at Wyong Police Station yesterday (Monday 18 March, 2024).

He's been charged with assault occasioning actual bodily harm and threaten to cause harm to prevent information to police, and granted conditional bail to face Cessnock Court on April 3. 

Cessnock Gaol In Lockdown Amid COVID Fears

BY IAN CROUCH

Cessnock Gaol has been placed into lockdown after it was revealed several prisoners had mixed with inmates at Sydney's Parklea Prison who have since tested positive to Coronavirus.

Staff at the gaol were advised of the situation yesterday and  are now wearing full personal protective equipment when dealing with inmates.

It's understood a total of 12 inmates were in a non-quarantine area of Parklea along with infected prisoners before being sent to Cessnock.

The Acting Corrective Services Commissioner has ordered an investigation into how the Parklea prisoners, who were not fresh arrivals, contracted the virus.

Cessnock Gaol is on high alert for COVID-19

Investigation Launched Into Death Of Prisoner At Cessnock Gaol

 BY IAN CROUCH

A Coronial Inquest will be held into the death of an indigenous man at Cessnock Gaol.

Paramedics were called to the Correctional Centre at about 10 o'clock on Tuesday morning after the 37-year-old man was found unresponsive in his cell.

The cause of the man's death has not been made public and is now the subject of an investigation by police and Corrective Services.

The man is the seventh Aboriginal person to die while in custody in the past two months. 

Body Scanners To Be Introduced At Cessnock Gaol

BY IAN CROUCH

Inmates at Cessnock Gaol will soon be subject to full body scans in a bid to stop illegal drugs and contraband from entering the prison.

The state government is spending 15-million dollars to install the body scanners at maximum-security correctional centres across NSW.

Legislation currently permits inmates to be scanned before and after each contact visit - the government wants to amend the law to allow visitors to also be scanned.

70 body scanners will be installed in 23 prisons by the end of the year

Corrective Services NSW Commissioner Peter Severin said the scanners would complement existing measures to detect contraband.

“Our hardworking officers undertake daily searches of inmates, cells and common areas, and we’ve increased searches of mail and perimeter fences,” Mr Severin said.

“An enhanced strategy is also under development to make better use of technology and tighten policies and procedures governing visits, and the provision of photocopies of mail in place of original documents.”

Prisoners Riot Over Loss Of Illicit Drug Supply At Cesnock Gaol

BY IAN CROUCH

Calm has been restored at Cessnock Gaol after a riot broke out.

A group of inmates at the Shortland H-Block began locking themselves in rooms and lighting fires on the roof at about 11.15am on Thursday.

They were demanding opioid substitution therapy to deal with drug withdrawals caused by the loss of supply of illicit drugs, after personal visits were suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Corrective Services says officers were eventually able to secure the inmates back to their cells.

No staff or inmates were injured.

Firefighters Called To Cessnock Gaol

BY IAN CROUCH

Quick work by prison guards at Cessnock Gaol has seen deliberately lit fires in two cells put out before they could take hold.

Firefighters responded to an automatic fire alarm at the correctional facility just before 5.30pm on Sunday but wardens had managed to extinguish the flames before they arrived.

Newcastle Fire Command says the fires caused only superficial damage to the cells.

Prison authorities have launched an investigation into the incident.

Cessnock Gaol Escapee Recaptured

BY IAN CROUCH

Police have recaptured a prisoner who escaped from Cessnock Gaol almost two weeks ago.

18-year-old Jake Nunn escaped from a minimum security section of the gaol on Friday September 21.

Acting on information from the community, officers went to a home in Burnett Street Cessnock yesterday and spotted a man running away.

They chased after him and found the man hiding in a wardrobe in the bedroom of a home in Scott Street.

He's expected to face Maitland Local Court today charged with 8 offences including escaping lawful custody and 2 counts of car stealing and driving while disqualified.

Jake Nunn