The canteen order form at Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre. Photo / Reddit via news.com.au
The canteen order form at Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre. Photo / Reddit via news.com.au
A prisoner has apparently taken an interesting souvenir home upon her release from a Queensland prison and curious social media users are intrigued.
The woman’s friend, who she is currently staying with, shared a photo of the canteen order form from the high-security Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre on Reddit.
“It’s like Uber Eats, kinda. You order from the list, they deduct it from your account and send you the items,” the friend wrote.
The order form, dated August 19 this year, includes food as well as hygiene products, underwear and socks, jewellery, cosmetics and stationery.
Many shared their surprise at the reasonable prices.
A 200g tin of Milo costs A$3.93 from the prison’s canteen, while at Australian supermarkets Woolworths and Coles the same product is A$4.50. A 50 pack of Equal sweetener sachets is A$3.65 behind bars and A$4.20 on supermarket shelves. Fantastic rice crackers are A$2 at the supermarket and A$1.30 at the prison.
Supermarket prices across the ditch are comparable to New Zealand, with Milo costing $4.50 at Countdown and Fantastic crackers $2.40 or $2.19 at Pak n’ Save.
Looking at confectionery, a Cadbury Dairy Milk or Old Gold Dark 180g block sells for A$5 on the outside and A$3.35 on the inside. A 45g KitKat is A$2 in stores and A$1.45 in prison. Tim Tams are A$4.50 at Coles, but A$3.89 at the prison.
However, not all prices are cheaper with a six pack of Sunbeam sultanas sold for A$3.28 compared to A$3 at Woolworths and Coles, and a 50 pack of Bushells black tea sold for A$2.35 compared to A$2.20.
Inside Brisbane Women's Correctional Centre at Wacol. Photo / Rob Williams, News Corp
Prisoners can pick up a birthday card and prepaid envelope for A$1.92, a silver cross with a chain for A$6.36 or a silver crucifix with a chain for A$6.88, tinted moisturiser for A$4.16, and a three pack of ankle socks for A$11.73.
“Compared to what commissary items cost in the US, with their private prisons, it’s awkwardly heartwarming to see the correctional centres here not blatantly profiteering from the orders,” one person wrote in response to the menu.
“Yes some of those prices are cheaper than Woolies, like the Hans Salami sticks. But I don’t begrudge them that. The punishment is being in a cage,” wrote another.
The friend of the former prisoner replied saying she “completely agrees”.
“They also don’t gouge them for phone calls either. It’s only 10 cents a minute,” she added.
Another person then pointed out: “After the initial relief wears off you realise that there still must be a lot of people locked up going without tampons and toothbrushes. Basic things like these should be free or at least close to it.”
A bar of chocolate sells for A$5 on the outside but just A$3.35 inside the prison. Photo / File
A Colgate toothbrush is offered on the menu for A$2.12 and a basic toothpaste for A$3.37. Poise liners cost between A$1.95 and A$4.53.
The original poster also said her friend earned about A$150 a week working in the facility.
“But there are jobs that pay more. Like the kitchen,” she said.
The website news.com.au has contacted Brisbane Women’s Correctional Centre for further information.
A commenter who said he served time in Brisbane Correctional Centre for men claimed their order form was similar but they weren’t allowed to wear jewellery and the hygiene, underwear and cosmetics sections were different.
“Something I used to make when I was in the workers’ unit was a kind of gooey hedgehog slice,” he said. “I made it every week so consistently that people started calling me Slice King, which is a hilariously misleading name when I tell people about it on the outside.”
He said the slice cost A$12 to make and was great for trading with other prisoners.
“I’d usually end up trading only small bits for each of the ingredients, which meant I didn’t have to bother buying any on the next week,” he said.
