Notice to new members intending to register - from January 9th 2012

*Becky2* · #1 03-02-2009, 11:17 PM

Hi again all. Well he's gone from Cessnock now to Long bay. he was going to be going to Junee but looks as if this is as far as they are going to take him on this leg of the journey. the last leg - Grafton to Cessnock (on way to Junee) took 6 months. he's only got 10.5 months left! anyway i've been told i only get 1 hour visits (he's LA). can anyone tell me about those? i come all the way from Brisbane and at Cessnock they used to let me get a second visit the next morning as long as i only came every 2 weeks. anyone know if they'll do anything similar at Longbay? Also how long are the phone calls? we've been having 5 min calls for the past 6 months and he calls me twice with a 6 min gap in between (sigh). is it any longer at LB? any advice/help/info would be gratefully received. for instance when you are visiting how far ahead do you have to lob up? at Cessnock it was min 30 mins. since i'll be flying in, seeing him and flying home it would be useful to know how much time to allow. thanks again everyone. you guys are great.

J&D7 · #2 03-03-2009, 03:42 AM

Hi Becky,
My bf is currently at Longbay. But he's only been there for a few weeks since being moved from MRRC, Silverwater. From what he has told me, its pretty overcrowded at the moment, or at least it is in the section he's in. It took a few days for him to even get a proper bed and pillow!! But other that, he says its much better than MRRC so cant be too bad.
As for the visits, I'm in a similar position, with me being in Vic and him up there. I'm in the process of organising my first visit. From what I understand we'll be able to have a 3hr visit but the best thing is to call and verify. Ive been misinformed way too many times by different staff members! I'm still finding my way too, so any other info anyone can offer would be greatly appreciated!!
The calls are 6 minutes and he's able to call after 10 minutes. Theres no limit on the number of calls he can make during the day, providing he has money in his account of course and the phones arent busy.
Other than that, I dont have much info sorry.

jane123 · #3 03-03-2009, 05:04 PM

My fiance is in longbay. He says it is heaps better than MRRC. They get to work during the day and don't get locked up until later at night. They can cook their own food and watch tv in the "common" area.
Visits are 3 hrs but lately, due to badly organised procedures and lazy officers, it has been taking up to 1 hr to get processed. If you want to get as long with them as possible, you need to get there atleast 1 hr before the visit time and stand as close to the entry as possible. Some people can be very pushy and rude.
To my knowledge, they only have 1 visit day a week so they wouldn't be able to give you one the next day aswell. but it is worth calling and asking them all the questions you have. The ladies on the phones there have been really helpful and friendly, unlike MRRC!!!

Good luck with everything.

Jane

J&D7 · #4 03-03-2009, 05:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jane123

My fiance is in longbay. He says it is heaps better than MRRC. They get to work during the day and don't get locked up until later at night. They can cook their own food and watch tv in the "common" area.
Visits are 3 hrs but lately, due to badly organised procedures and lazy officers, it has been taking up to 1 hr to get processed. If you want to get as long with them as possible, you need to get there atleast 1 hr before the visit time and stand as close to the entry as possible. Some people can be very pushy and rude.
To my knowledge, they only have 1 visit day a week so they wouldn't be able to give you one the next day aswell. but it is worth calling and asking them all the questions you have. The ladies on the phones there have been really helpful and friendly, unlike MRRC!!!

Good luck with everything.

Jane

Hi Jane,
It seems it may differ a bit according to which sections the inmates are in. The area in which my bf is in usually locked in by 3pm. And there is no "common area".
And his allowed visits on both Sat and Sun for an hour. Unless your from interstate than it can be up to 3 hrs.
But your right about the whole coming early thing, my bfs family says its best to come at least an hour before because it does get very busy.

ozziesyd · #5 03-04-2009, 04:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jack&diane

Hi Jane,
It seems it may differ a bit according to which sections the inmates are in. The area in which my bf is in usually locked in by 3pm. And there is no "common area".
And his allowed visits on both Sat and Sun for an hour. Unless your from interstate than it can be up to 3 hrs.
But your right about the whole coming early thing, my bfs family says its best to come at least an hour before because it does get very busy.

That's because he's in Limited Association (LA). Do you know how often he's allowed out of the cell a day at longbay? I was in LA at MRRC in December 08 and was only allowed out 1 hour a day with a 1 hour visit a week.

For those of you who don't know in protective custody they have 3 classifications.

SMAP
Kind of like the general population of protective custody, this is the lowest level of protection outside of main.

LA
Limited Association, you're only allowed to associate with other LA inmates

NA
No Association, you're not allowed to associate with other inmates at all.

It doesn't sound as if you're BF will ever make it Junee if he's doing under 3 years. My cellie at MRRC had been in for 2.5 years on a 3 year non parole period and was classified to Junee (Medium Security). As the prisons are all full he's spent all his time in Max Security LA between Parklea, Longbay, Cessnock and MRRC.

I'd like to hear more about his time in LA at longbay as when I'm sentenced i'll go straight to Longbay. How long is he allowed out of the cell? does he have a TV etc?

*Becky2* · #6 03-04-2009, 03:46 PM

Thanks to everyone who's responded. At Cessnock my guy was LA. he was there for 6 months (even though its considered a "transit" centre). he has his own TV, jug, sandwich toaster, fan etc so hopefully where he is in LB will let him use those. i'm still waiting for the phones to be set up so he can call me. Can anyone tell me how long it took for them to do that? he's been there since Monday and today is Thursday. He may end up going SMAPS - i think it was a space issue at Cessnock. Everywhere is SO overcrowded! Interesting that you don't think he'll make it to Junee... i wonder why they bothered classifying him to go there in the first place? His mum is visiting this weekend so she'll find out more. i'll go down the following weekend but i want to give time for the phones to be connected so i can find out as much as possible before i get there. at cessnock it was 6 min calls and as many as you wanted but they only had access to the phones for 1 hour a day. does anyone know if LA's at Long bay have all day access to the phones? Anyone heard how many they are cramming into a cell down there? Thanks everyone its a great comfort to be able to talk about this stuff.

J&D7 · #7 03-06-2009, 07:03 PM

ozziesyd - My bf says it varies at the moment as to when they're allowed out of their cells. Some days, they're not let out at all or just for a brief half hour to shower, etc. Other times, they'll keep them in just for the morning or arvo. But I think for the most part, its usually 9am till 3pm. They get locked back up pretty early.
His also allowed 2 visits per week (Sat & Sun) usually about an hour unless your from interstate. He also just got a tv in his cell so that'll help pass the time I guess lol.

Becky - It took a full week before my bf could call me. So I'm guessing you'll probably hear from him this weekend.
The place is pretty full at the moment, so access to phones is not always easy. They're allowed access mostly whenever they're out out their cell which will be between the times of 9-3. But its not always possible to use them, coz it is VERY crowded.
Also, I think its 2 to a cell or at least it is in the wing where my bf is.

I dont know all that much but I hope this helps you guys.
Cheers
D

Miggle · #8 03-08-2009, 06:35 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jane123

My fiance is in longbay. He says it is heaps better than MRRC. They get to work during the day and don't get locked up until later at night. They can cook their own food and watch tv in the "common" area.
Visits are 3 hrs but lately, due to badly organised procedures and lazy officers, it has been taking up to 1 hr to get processed. If you want to get as long with them as possible, you need to get there atleast 1 hr before the visit time and stand as close to the entry as possible. Some people can be very pushy and rude.
To my knowledge, they only have 1 visit day a week so they wouldn't be able to give you one the next day aswell. but it is worth calling and asking them all the questions you have. The ladies on the phones there have been really helpful and friendly, unlike MRRC!!!

Good luck with everything.

Jane

You know your guy could possibly be in the same area as mine...sounds the same (although actually I think he has a tv in his cell), and the 3 hour visits being delayed by officers sounds familiar too. We may have been standing there this weekend both frustrated near one another and not known it.

jane123 · #9 03-08-2009, 10:38 PM

Hi Miggle,

I always think about that when i am standing there waiting. I look at everyone wondering if i have spoken to them on here!!!

My man comes home on Wednesday, so no more lining up, being pushed and shoved... thank god. My last visit was 2 1/2 weeks ago and by the time i got into see him i was so stressed and aggrivated i just wanted to cry

!!! haha!!!between people pushing in and sniffer dog line ups starting after we've all been waiting for almost 2 hours... something needs to be done to make the visiting process easier... like the number ticket system at MRRC!!!

Yeah my man has a tv in his cell too... he just hates being in his cell when he doesn't 'have' to be!!! How is your man finding it at Long Bay?

*Becky2* · #10 03-09-2009, 12:50 AM

Ok well the phones are working (when he can get to them). i rang up this morning (after being told I could book a 1 hour visit on both Saturday and Sunday but couldn't book them at the same time - typical). when i rang though the guy on the phone said they were only 30min visits! I am so MAD! B says that's rubbish and the guys in with him have said its one hour but why can't they put people on the phones that know what the hell they are doing! grrrrrrr So i've booked in for 30 mins ( I guess) and will have to go through the whole beg/plead/cry routine when i get down there - hell of a long way to fly just to get 30 mins! he says its very crowded (40 guys in his wing) and 2 to a cell but he's got a good cellie so that helps. he says the library is way better than Cessnock and i can send him in clothes and underwear which can be any colour so long as its green

oh... and nothing with zips. damn there goes the sexy dark green leather underwear with the zips up the side LOL. you have to laugh don't you.... thanks to everyone who has responded.

*Becky2* · #11 04-05-2009, 11:24 PM

Update on Longbay.
Well he's been moved to minimum and its heaps better he says. out of the cell from 7am till around 8pm but they can usually go back and forth so you don't have to take everything out with you in the morning. access to a larger yard that he can actually run around! (hasn't had that in 9 months). good library, gym, even has fish pond and a garden! he's put his name down to work. says cellie seems fine. visits are strange. April is Afternoons. May is mornings. each week swaps back and forth between Saturdays and Sundays. such a complicated system! i've had to move all my flights that i'd booked till the end of May. now all we have to do is get him classo'd there rather than Junee. he's going to apply for that. anyone got any info on how hard that's likely to be? general concensus is that Junee is chocka block and if you are doing less than 3 years you can probably forget about going there. that suits us - he's hopefully home in 9.5 months

*Becky2* · #12 04-05-2009, 11:27 PM

oh and another thing! plenty of phone access. he called me 5 times yesterday just because (he said) he can LOL. in LA it was hopeless. one phone. 40 guys including a number of stand over merchants that pushed in all the time in the queue. one was apparently conducting business in there and he was particularly problematic but he got moved the other day and almost immediately the phone situation eased up and my darling could at least get one call a day in.

J&D7 · #13 04-06-2009, 12:35 AM

Hey Becky,
Thats great he's in Minimum now.. sounds a lot better. My bf is still in max there coz he's yet to be sentenced. Wow. That whole visit thing sounds impossible to organise! You travel a LONG way from Qld! I thought we were bad with me in Vic and him up there.
I have to agree... the phone access in Long Bay can be quite good at times even though the calls are only 6 minutes long. I've had a few days where he'll call me 4 or 5 times too just coz he can lol. Gotta love that!

Miggle · #14 04-10-2009, 02:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Becky2

Update on Longbay.
Well he's been moved to minimum and its heaps better he says. out of the cell from 7am till around 8pm but they can usually go back and forth so you don't have to take everything out with you in the morning. access to a larger yard that he can actually run around! (hasn't had that in 9 months). good library, gym, even has fish pond and a garden! he's put his name down to work. says cellie seems fine. visits are strange. April is Afternoons. May is mornings. each week swaps back and forth between Saturdays and Sundays. such a complicated system! i've had to move all my flights that i'd booked till the end of May. now all we have to do is get him classo'd there rather than Junee. he's going to apply for that. anyone got any info on how hard that's likely to be? general concensus is that Junee is chocka block and if you are doing less than 3 years you can probably forget about going there. that suits us - he's hopefully home in 9.5 months

He's in the same place as my guy...wonder if they know one another.

I was surprised they have a pond! Hehe... We would be standing in the same (long) visit line as each other too! Sunday and Monday this week.

*Becky2* · #15 04-12-2009, 11:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Miggle

He's in the same place as my guy...wonder if they know one another.

I was surprised they have a pond! Hehe... We would be standing in the same (long) visit line as each other too! Sunday and Monday this week.

Hi Miggle. Well that was a bummer today wasn't it? Kicked out at 2 in the pouring rain because they have to have a "meeting". They certainly are not making themselves any friends with the general public. Thank goodness we got a full 3 hours the day before (almost). I knew the day was going badly when the damn bus broke down on the way down there and we all had to get off (1/2 of the passengers were going to the gaol) and get 2 more buses to get there.

I'm now sitting here at the airport with a 2 hour wait for my plane and wet feet. Oh well, as he says "that's gaol". How were your visits this weekend?

Becky

Miggle · #16 04-13-2009, 02:27 AM

Ah I know-I was hanging on to my guy not wanting to leave!! We were enjoying the rain though while the visit lasted-if we ignored the barbed wire it was almost romantic snuggled up.

Can't wait until next weekend.

Hope your visits went well-he's very lucky to have you travelling all that way for him! I was standing there today wondering if someone from PTO was in the line-guess there was.

*Becky2* · #17 04-14-2009, 04:30 AM

yes we loved the rain too. we were sitting there cuddled up on a bench imagining we were sitting on our back veranda.. then some idiot in a blue uniform came over and said "are you MSPC2?" and of course it was then back to the cells. there was an elderly lady there and i wondered how she managed in the rain. imagine kicking people out in the middle of such a downpour! no respect. i'll be there this coming Saturday afternoon as well. its much easier for me afternoons. I fly down from Brisbane each weekend and for mornings i'll have to get up about 4am to catch the 6am flight to get there in time.

My guy said "isn't this just like a beer garden except there's no beer". he's right! it was!

*Becky2* · #18 04-14-2009, 04:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ozziesyd

That's because he's in Limited Association (LA). Do you know how often he's allowed out of the cell a day at longbay? I was in LA at MRRC in December 08 and was only allowed out 1 hour a day with a 1 hour visit a week.

For those of you who don't know in protective custody they have 3 classifications.

SMAP
Kind of like the general population of protective custody, this is the lowest level of protection outside of main.

LA
Limited Association, you're only allowed to associate with other LA inmates

NA
No Association, you're not allowed to associate with other inmates at all.

It doesn't sound as if you're BF will ever make it Junee if he's doing under 3 years. My cellie at MRRC had been in for 2.5 years on a 3 year non parole period and was classified to Junee (Medium Security). As the prisons are all full he's spent all his time in Max Security LA between Parklea, Longbay, Cessnock and MRRC.

I'd like to hear more about his time in LA at longbay as when I'm sentenced i'll go straight to Longbay. How long is he allowed out of the cell? does he have a TV etc?

Sorry its taken me time to get to answer your questions. as i understand it, in LA you get out about 9 and are out till 11.30 then you are back in till 1.30 and then out till 3.30. you can make calls anytime you are out if you can get to a phone. they have a sort of unofficial "queue" where you know the person in front of you and the person behind. when the person in front alerts you that they are going on you know you are going to be on in 6 mins. when you go on you warn the person behind you etc. this works fine except when my guy was there there was some stand over guy running a business in there (hairdresser??? believe it or not!!!) and he dominated the phones to the point he was making like 10 calls a day and no one else got a look in. the prison caught on to it and apparently shifted him and after that my guy could get to the phone easy. he much prefers where he is now. says its far more laid back. lots of old guys, no hassle, room to run every day, out from 7am till about 8pm, access to library and gym etc etc. if you want to pm me i can talk to you more about LA.

Miggle · #19 04-16-2009, 03:13 AM

We tried to ignore the guard as long as possible, but then he started yelling after a while so we had to dash through the rain (actually my guy stood in it on purpose because he misses rain/hasn't been in it since he was locked up).

I saw the old woman-I was commenting on her to my bf... It's sad-some of the elderly folk who visit can barely walk, yet they turn up every week.
I can't wait for Saturday.

Almost time. Can't you apply for afternoon visits all the time? My bf reckons if he gets approved for child visits you don't have to have kids, but can come in the children visit times (I have no idea if this is the case since I don't mind the times so haven't pursued this option).

*Becky2* · #20 04-17-2009, 03:13 AM

yes we are going to try to get the child visit thing going so i can do all afternoons but seing as how i've already booked all my flights till the end of May and i've worked them with the morning/afternoon thing there's no rush.
irritating and "goal normal" thing happened this week. previously my guy has never put his return address on the back of his letters to me because the LongBay handbook says "don't put return addresses on". then today 3 letters he'd written to me were returned because "you didn't put a return address on". he showed the female screw the hand book and she just smiled and shrugged and said "well we do it this way in this wing". this is the sort of crap that drive me and B crazy! BTW have you heard anything about them putting Skype numbers onto the phone list? i've just gotten a Sydney Skype number so he can call me for a local call instead of the stupid mobile call rates that we've been paying twice a day. Becky.

Miggle · #21 04-17-2009, 03:24 AM

Ah the mail system is frustrating! For some reason they can't deliver his mail to the right place-luckily people in the other wing it goes to know him. I don't know what's so hard about it! When he was moved wings it took weeks for them to work out his meals too (vegetarian). It seems different wings are better to be in than others. It's even worse when it gets returned on his end because it's so slow to get out of there to you, and he has to pay to re-send it!
I don't know anything about Skype-sorry. Luckily I just have a local number he can call. Can't he just ask someone there? I don't see why he couldn't call it-all they need to do is check it/approve, and I don't know why it wouldn't be acceptable.
Have a good visit tomorrow.

I can never sleep the night before...

*Becky2* · #22 04-19-2009, 01:30 AM

Hi LBers,
how were your visits yesterday? we had one of the best we'd ever had. got in by 12.50 despite being sniffed. as i was being scanned inside the door one of the screws came on duty and gave me a big grin so i said "that was excitiing" (meaning the dog business) he said "you'd shit yourself if he sat down in front of you". so i guess some of them do have a sense of humour. i should wear the Tshirt i got in NZ which has got a pic of a cop on the front with "The police never find it as funny as you do" on it

i actually bought if for my son but couldn't bear to part with it when i got it home (once a hippy stirrer, always a hippy stirrer

). then they left us alone until 3.15 so we got over 2 hours. hope everyone else had a good one too. Pity the cashier can't stay open till 3.30 so those of us rushing to get in queue can put money on when we get out. i tried to put money on before i queued and they'd gone on lunch! oh well... as hubby says "that's gaol". Cya all next Sunday! Becky.

Miggle · #23 04-19-2009, 02:19 AM

You got sniffed? I was in before the dog came...I get there about an hour early to be near the front of the queue. And we did get a nice long visit-it was good.

Where do you go to put money in accounts? I've never done it because he works, but I'm going to have to soon and always assumed it was the same area as the visits. But no?
Hanging out for next Sunday...glad your visit was good.

*Becky2* · #24 04-20-2009, 02:34 AM

Hi Miggle. yes i wondered if you were there and if so where you were. one day we are going to have to try to work that out

the cashier is up from the boom gate and turn first right then its in that building up the concrete ramp on your left. the window is open till 12 then closed till 1240 for lunch then open again until 3.
yes i'd got through the check in and was waiting to be called next through the door and the bloody dog turned up and we all had to line up and be sniffed. as a result i didn't get in till 1250. yes, i'd like to get there earlier too but my plane doesnt get in till 11.30 and i have to get a car (or a taxi) and hightail it down from there (takes about 20 mins driving). yes i'll be there next sunday. i'll be checking everyone in front of me wondering "is she miggle?". give me an age range.... i'm 57 but look about 40-45 i'm told. unless you'd rather not of course in which case just tell me. pm me if you prefer. i've already gotten friendly with a couple of people i've seen there over the past few weeks and we chat when i arrive.

*Becky2* · #25 04-21-2009, 03:05 PM

Just heard last night from my guy that today they are locked in ALL day because its a prison guard picnic day. isn't that nice for them? the guys get no showers, no exercise, no speaking to their loved ones and don't see the light of day but the prison guards and their familes get a nice day out in the park with sandwiches. i'm so pleased for them and i'm sure the guys inside don't mind do they? after all they are all there because they deserve to be and should feel grateful that they are given food and air to breathe. sorry the sarcasm is getting a bit thick i know but i'm just venting. boy if any group was more ripe for privatisation its this bunch!