Visiting Cousin Philip in Brisbane Correctional Centre - Wed/Thu 9th/10th October 2013
The Brisbane Correctional Centre is a forbidding place, surrounded as it is by lashings of razor wire.
In early September Judy and I filled in and sent Form 27: Application to Visit a Prisoner. More than four weeks later my application had still not been approved, whereas Judy's was approved a week earlier! This meant we could only have a "non-contact" visit, speaking through the glass ... not impressed.
On our first visit we had to arrive at the processing facility an hour early so that we could "enrol" in the Biometric Identification System, which requires photograph and fingerprint. You can carry nothing into the prison. Empty pockets, no jewelry (except engagement and wedding rings), not even a watch.
We had quite a wait for the guards and the lovely black Labrador drug "sniffer" dog to arrive. Line up along the yellow line so that the dog could give us a quick "once over". The guards then led us across the road and into the prison. Take off shoes. Walk through metal detector. Show guards pocket linings, under collar, soles of feet. Then through entry "pod" where the exit door is only unlocked if your fingerprint is identified. Finally a little queue and into the non-contact airlock and so into the "cubicles". Altogether a pretty daunting process.
We had a lovely chat with Phil, and the hour was up all too soon. Out through the entry "pod" using fingerprint identification again, out through the gate and away.