Cooma Correctional Centre, an Australian minimum to medium prison for males, is located in

Cooma Cooma is a town in the south of New South Wales, Australia. It is located south of the national capital, Canberra, via the Monaro Highway. It is also on the Snowy Mountains Highway, connecting Bega with the Riverina. At the , Cooma had a po ...

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. The centre is 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 i ...

agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that ...

of the Department of Attorney General and Justice of the Government of New South Wales. The centre detains

sentenced Sentenced was a Finnish gothic metal band that played melodic death metal in their early years. The band formed in 1989 in the town of Muhos and broke up in 2005. History Early years (1988–1991) Sentenced started in 1988 as Deformity and ...

prisoners and persons on

remand Remand may refer to: * Remand (court procedure), when an appellate court sends a case back to the trial court or lower appellate court * Pre-trial detention, detention of a suspect prior to a trial, conviction, or sentencing See also *''Remando a ...

under New South Wales and/or

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legislation. In 1957, Cooma operated as the world's only prison specifically for detaining men convicted of homosexual offences. Adjacent to the Correctional Centre is the Corrective Services NSW Museum, showcasing the history of NSW Corrections since 1788.

History

Construction of the Cooma Correctional Centre commenced in 1870 from local granite which was quarried from the hill where the Centre now stands. The Centre commenced operations on 1 November 1873 with 31 cells. In 1876 it was reduced to a Police Gaol and then a temporary Lunatic Asylum in 1877. The Centre closed temporarily in the early 1900s. The Gaol reopened on 8 March 1957 and was again closed 10 July 1998. Cooma Correctional Centre reopened for the second time in November 2001 following a 20 per cent increase in the prison population between 1995 and 2001.

Facilities

The Centre is a minimum and medium security institution for inmates held in

protective custody Protective custody (PC) is a type of imprisonment (or care) to protect a person from harm, either from outside sources or other prisoners. Many prison administrators believe the level of violence, or the underlying threat of violence within pris ...

, such as former police officers, prison officers and other high-profile inmates, who would be at risk in the general prison system. Located one hour's drive south of Canberra, from Sydney and from

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/ Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a me ...

, the Centre accommodates 160 inmates. There is approximately 53 staff, consisting of 31 custodial officers, 9 overseers and 13 support staff. When not in use, the Cooma Correctional Centre has also been a storage space for the

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and for the

Snowy Mountains Scheme The Snowy Mountains Scheme or Snowy scheme is a hydroelectricity and irrigation complex in south-east Australia. The Scheme consists of sixteen major dams; nine power stations; two pumping stations; and of tunnels, pipelines and aqueducts that ...

Notable prisoners

The following individuals have served all or part of their sentence at the Cooma Correctional Centre:

References

External links

Cooma Correctional Centre websiteCorrective Services NSW Museum website
{{NewSouthWalesPrisons Prisons in New South Wales 1873 establishments in Australia Cooma