Corrections Victoria is in crisis after a female prison guard was walked off the job after she was caught drunk while on duty at one of the state's most notorious jails.
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she → walk → jails
The Daily Mail can reveal the Corrections Victoria officer was smashed on vodka, rather than sober and alert, as she patrolled the corridors of the Metropolitan Remand Centre earlier this month.
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she → reveal → Centre
It's understood the female officer was new to the job and swiftly escorted from the prison after senior corrections staff became aware of her inebriated state.
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staff → understand → state
A prison source confirmed that it was the MRC prisoners who reported the intoxicated guard to senior Corrections Victoria staff.
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who → confirm → staff
It follows extraordinary rumours about a female staff member being sacked over sex with an inmate at another Victorian prison - although Corrections Victoria denies any such incident occurred.
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incident → follow → prison
This prison worker is not one of the officers mentioned elsewhere in this story.
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worker → mention → story
The Mail has heard from sources a litany of extraordinary claims about this particular staff member: that she sent love letters urging an inmate to leave his partner; that she engaged in racy Zoom conversations after a prisoner was transferred to another facility; and even that intimate videos of her were circulated via a USB drive.
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videos → hear → drive
While these allegations remain unconfirmed, Corrections Victoria will certainly be hoping to avoid a similar scandal to the one that rocked the British prison system in 2024 when Linda de Sousa Abreu, a female guard at HMP Wandsworth, was filmed in her uniform engaging in intimate acts with serial burglar Linton Weirich.
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Abreu → remain → Weirich
In an entirely separate matter, another female Corrections Victoria worker was allegedly caught smuggling 140g of meth into trouble-plagued Western Plains Correctional Centre in June this year.
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worker → catch → June
A female Corrections Victoria officer was walked off the job after she was caught drunk at the Metropolitan Remand Centre (above)
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she → walk → Centre
In an entirely separate matter, former Corrections Victoria employee Sarah Constable was charged with trafficking a commercial quantity of drugs at Barwon Prison
Constable spent several days on remand in protective custody at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre, whose most notorious inmate is the mushroom murderer Erin Patterson (pictured)
It's alleged that this woman attempted to smuggle the contraband in her bra.
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woman → charge → bra
The $1.1billion facility, which houses up to 1,292 prisoners, opened last year and is right next door to the state's notorious maximum security fortress Barwon Prison.
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which → house → fortress
It has been nicknamed the 'New Port Phillip' - a reference to the controversial Port Phillip Prison, which closed its doors in December last year.
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which → nickname → December
Insiders say 'WP' has supplanted Port Phillip Prison as Victoria's most troubled correctional facility, with allegedly 'shady' dealings between inmates and Corrections Victoria staff.
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WP → say → inmates
Corrections Victoria did not deny Western Plains had a drug problem among inmates.
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Plains → deny → inmates
'All Corrections Victoria staff are expected to uphold the highest levels of professionalism,' a Justice and Community Safety Department spokesperson said in a statement to the Daily Mail.
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spokesperson → expect → Mail
'All reports of inappropriate behaviour in the workplace are assessed and responded to accordingly.
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reports → assess → workplace
'We have a zero-tolerance approach to the smuggling of drugs and other contraband into prisons.
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We → have → prisons
It follows extraordinary rumours about a female staff member being sacked over sex with an inmate at another prison - although Corrections Victoria denies any such incident occurred.
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incident → follow → prison
Corrections Victoria will certainly be hoping to avoid a similar scandal to the one that rocked the UK jail system in 2024 when Linda de Sousa Abreu, a female guard at HMP Wandsworth, was filmed in her uniform engaging in intimate acts with serial burglar Linton Weirich (above)
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Abreu → hop → Weirich
'For prison staff, smuggling contraband is a serious offence that can result in criminal charges and termination of employment.
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that → smuggle → employment
'
The Daily Mail has enquired if the alleged Western Plains drug bust was referred to Victoria Police for investigation.
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bust → enquire → investigation
Just two weeks before the Western Plains arrest, a female kitchen industry officer - a specialised correctional role where you supervise and manage prison kitchen operations - was allegedly caught smuggling 130g of meth into Barwon.
Former Corrections Victoria employee Sarah Constable was charged with trafficking a commercial quantity of drugs after prisoners tipped off Corrections Victoria's Security and Intelligence Division.
Security and Emergency Services Group officers allegedly waited in the car park for Constable to arrive at work and then searched her vehicle, where police claim the drugs were found and seized.
Constable spent several days on remand in protective custody at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre alongside the likes of mushroom killer Erin Patterson before top criminal lawyer George Balot secured her bail.
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Balot → supervise → bail
She will face court at a later date.
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She → face → date
Trouble-plagued Western Plains Correctional Centre opened last year
A Corrections Victoria employee allegedly attempted to smuggle drugs into Barwon Prison
Meanwhile, many fear inmates at Western Plains are becoming heavily addicted to illicit drugs, while 'clean' prisoners are being inadvertently classified as Identified Drug Users (IDU) because contraband is often found in shared cells.
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contraband → plague → cells
Just this month, a Western Plains inmate was rushed to hospital after a suspected drug overdose.
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inmate → rush → overdose
A partner of an inmate posted online how she was unable to visit her prisoner boyfriend for more than a year because he was classified an 'IDU' due to drugs to being found in a shared cell.
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he → post → cell
The woman claimed she was strip-searched at a recent visit and has been targeted 'several times' due to her partner's IDU classification - but she insists he doesn't use drugs.
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he → claim → drugs
The Aporia
