Ray Hadley has revealed unruly inmates at a notorious Sydney jail have been caught lighting fires, with an attempted escape leading to another alleged assault on an officer.

Parklea Correctional Centre has been riddled by scandals over recent years, resulting in GEO Group being dumped as the jail’s private operator last year.

Parklea is now run by MTC-Broadspectrum, but the amount of assaults on staff has risen to 33 since they took over operations in April.

Reliable sources have told Ray two fires were started over the weekend to protest another lockdown due to understaffing.

MTC-Broadspectrum have confirmed an inmate attempted to escape while being transported to Westmead Hospital (See full statement below).

The 40-year-old managed to slip out of handcuffs and allegedly assaulted both escorting officers while trying to grab hold of a gun.

An officer suffered a broken finger and the inmate is facing charges.

“It appears, despite the fact that it’s gone from one operator to another, as far as Parklea is concerned not much has changed,” Ray says.

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Full statement from MTC-Broadspectrum: 

“A segregated inmate started a fire in the Segregation Unit at approximately 12.30pm on Sunday, 10 November.

“The fire was immediately contained and the inmate will be subject to internal and/or external charges post review of the incident.

“Inmates also started a fire in a cell in the Main Unit at approximately 5.30pm on Sunday, 10 November.

“The fire was immediately contained and the inmates were placed in segregation.

“They admitted starting the fire and will be subject to internal and/or external charges post review of the incident.

“Regarding the report of an incident on hospital transport, PARKLEA CORRECTIONAL CENTRE GOVERNOR PAUL BAKER praised officers for their quick and effective response to prevent an attempted escape at Westmead Hospital.

“A 40-year-old inmate managed to slip his handcuffs while being transported to the hospital at around 6pm on MONDAY.

“On arrival, he assaulted both escorting officers and attempted to grab an officer’s weapon.

“I commend our officers for quickly restraining the inmate, stopping him from obtaining a weapon and preventing his attempts to escape,” Mr BAKER
said.

“NSW Police were notified and attended the scene immediately.

“An officer suffered an injury to his finger, which required treatment in hospital.

“The officer has been released and is expected to make a full recovery.

“The inmate was returned to the Centre by three MTC-Broadspectrum staff.

“NSW Police escort was not required. The inmate will face charges for the attempted escape and for assaulting staff.

“Investigations into the incident continue.”