Lithgow Correctional Centre is a
prison
A prison, also known as a jail, gaol (dated, standard English, Australian, and historically in Canada), penitentiary (American English and Canadian English), detention center (or detention centre outside the US), correction center, correc ...
near
Lithgow,
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, operated by
Corrective Services NSW
Corrective Services New South Wales (CSNSW) is a division of the Department of Communities and Justice of the Government of New South Wales, Australia. CSNSW is responsible for the state's prisons and a range of programs for managing offenders in ...
, an agency of the
New South Wales state government. The prison houses sentenced male inmates with a maximum security classification.
History
Data obtained from Corrective Services NSW by ''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'' revealed that between July 2006 and May 2009, 67
assault
An assault is the act of committing physical harm or unwanted physical contact upon a person or, in some specific legal definitions, a threat or attempt to commit such an action. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in crim ...
s occurred at the centre, one of which was considered serious.
Following the 2008 discovery of a prison
drug ring orchestrated from inside Lithgow Correctional Centre by Bassam Hamzy through use of a mobile phone, prison officials sought approval for the introduction of a trial of
mobile phone jamming technology. The trial began on 24 September 2013,
and has been extended to 1 November 2018.
In 2011, prison officials announced a trial ban of smoking in the centre, impacting both inmates and officers.
Nicotine patches were issued to inmates as a substitute. Prisoners were permitted to smoke in some designated outdoor areas, but were not permitted to smoke in their cells or inside jail facilities. The trial was due to commence in early 2012, for a period of six months.
Notable prisoners
*
John Wayne Glover
John Wayne Glover (26 November 1932 – 9 September 2005) was an English-Australian serial killer convicted of the murders of six elderly women (aged from 60 to 93), over a period of 14 months from 1989 to 1990 including Winifreda, Lady Ashto ...
- (1932-2005) English Australian serial killer, convicted of the murders of 8 elderly women on Sydney's
North Shore in 1989 and 1990
*Andrew Kalajzich - a former millionaire
hotel
A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. Facilities provided inside a hotel room may range from a modest-quality mattress in a small room to large suites with bigger, higher-quality beds, a dresser, a ref ...
owner, jailed for 25 years for the 1986 murder of his wife
*
Milton Orkopoulos
Milton Orkopoulos (born 22 July 1957) is an Australian former state politician and convicted sex offender. A member of the New South Wales Legislative Assembly from 1999 to 2006, Orkopoulos was appointed Minister for Aboriginal Affairs and Mini ...
- a disgraced former New South Wales politician jailed in 2008 for 13 years and eight months for child sex and drugs offences
*Keith Schreiber
- convicted of the stabbing murder of Jack van Krevel in his home at
Albion Park
Albion Park is a suburb situated in the Macquarie Valley in the City of Shellharbour, which is in turn one of the three local government areas that comprise the Wollongong Metropolitan Area, New South Wales, Australia. Although it is surround ...
*
Neddy Smith
Arthur Stanley "Neddy" Smith (27 November 1944 – 8 September 2021) was an Australian criminal who was convicted of drug trafficking, theft, rape, armed robbery, and murder.
Smith served a life sentence since 1989 and was imprisoned in Lithgow ...
*Gary and Michael Murphy - two of five men (including 3 brothers) sentenced to life imprisonment for the gang rape and murder at
Prospect, New South Wales
Prospect is a suburb of Sydney, in the state of New South Wales, Australia. Prospect is located 32 kilometres west of the Sydney central business district in the local government area of the City of Blacktown and is part of the Greater Western S ...
of Sydney nurse
Anita Cobby
Anita or ANITA may refer to:
Arts
* ''Anita'' (1967 film), an Indian film
* ''Anita'' (2009 film), an Argentine film
* ''Anita'' (2021 film), a Hong Kong film
*'' Anita: Swedish Nymphet'', a 1973 erotic film
People
*Anita (given name), people w ...
*Rodney Francis Cameron - sentenced to life imprisonment, never to be released, for the murder of four victims (and allegedly eight victims)
Visitor access
Public transport to the centre is available from
Lithgow railway station
Lithgow railway station is a heritage-listed former station master's residence and railway station and now guest accommodation and railway station located on the Main Western line at Railway Parade, Lithgow, City of Lithgow, New South Wales, A ...
.
Lithgow Buslines run buses along the
Great Western Highway
Great Western Highway (also known as Broadway from to , Parramatta Road from Chippendale to , and Church Street through Parramatta) is a state highway in New South Wales, Australia. From east to west, the highway links Sydney with Bathurst, ...
from Lithgow to
Bathurst, some of which stop near Lithgow Correctional Centre. Other special bus services run directly to the centre.
Parking is available for visitors, and signs direct vehicles to the centre from the Great Western Highway. Visitors require bookings to see inmates, which can only be made on weekdays. Strict restrictions and security checks apply to all visitors.
See also
*
Punishment in Australia
Punishment in Australia arises when an individual has been accused or convicted of breaking the law through the Australian criminal justice system. Australia uses prisons, as well as community corrections (various non-custodial punishments such ...
Further reading
*''Lithgow Correctional Centre: Socio–economic impact assessment'' (1998) Department of Corrective Services
References
External links
Corrective Services NSW - Lithgow Official Website*
Prisons in New South Wales
Maximum security prisons in Australia
Marrangaroo, New South Wales
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