Behind the Walls

Department of Communities and Justice•behind-the-walls.simplecast.com

Behind the Walls is a ground-breaking six-part podcast series that for the first time takes listeners on a journey into NSW prisons and parole offices. Podcast host Michael Duffy, a crime author and former journalist, spent six months recording the interviews at 11 correctional centres and four Community Corrections offices, where staff manage offenders on community orders. Thirty correctional officers from prisons including Bathurst, Lithgow, Cessnock, Cooma and Long Bay share their stories of what really happens when people are sentenced to prison.

Last refreshed: July 1st, 2025 at 10:46 PM ⓘ

Follow this podcast in the Metacast mobile app to refresh it and see new episodes.

Follow on

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

RSS

Podcasts are better in Metacast mobile app

Don't just listen to podcasts. Learn from them with transcripts, summaries, and chapters for every episode. Skim, search, and bookmark insights. Learn more

Episodes

Parole

Would you be willing to inspect the house of a convicted criminal? Have a one-on-one conversation with a parolee about their past trauma? In the sixth and final episode of Behind the Walls: Parole, crime author and former journalist Michael Duffy meets parole officers including Grace Wong, who has one of the most challenging jobs in corrections. “We do get a lot of clients who walk through the door with histories of childhood trauma, sexual abuse, exposure to violence at an early age and domesti...

Apr 14, 2021•32 min•Ep. 6

The Blue and the Green

A prison officer reveals how an inmate saved his life from a brutal bashing by a criminal gang. In the fifth episode of Behind the Walls: The Blue and the Green , crime journalist and former author Michael Duffy talks to Long Bay’s Paul Coyne about the often surprising interactions between officers and inmates. “Mutual respect between inmates and officers is really important and I honestly believe that it pretty much saved my life,” Paul says. “I was being assaulted at Long Bay when an inmate he...

Apr 07, 2021•26 min•Ep. 5

Rehabilitation

A prison governor becomes good mates with a former inmate and even gives a speech at his wedding. In the fourth episode of Behind the Walls: Rehabilitation , crime author and former journalist Michael Duffy talks to former inmate Damian Cuff about the friendship he has formed with Governor Mark Kennedy. Damian spent 19 years in-and-out of prison for a range of crimes including armed robbery, kidnapping and drug use. “Normally blokes get out and they go back to the same area, the same people that...

Mar 31, 2021•26 min•Ep. 4

Daily Life

If you treat inmates like animals, they’ll act like animals. What happens when they get out of jail? Would you want them living in your suburb? In the third episode of Behind the Walls: Daily Life , crime author and former journalist Michael Duffy learns how inmates – and staff – spend a typical day at prisons including Cessnock, Dawn de Loas and Bathurst correctional centres. Macquarie Correctional Centre prison officer Liz Sears tells Michael: “Essentially our job as a prison officer is to mak...

Mar 24, 2021•36 min•Ep. 3

Security

Would you believe that some inmates actually ask to be sent to Australia’s toughest and most regimented prison, Supermax? In the second episode of Behind the Walls: Security , crime author and former journalist Michael Duffy learns about prison-yard hierarchies and how to stop inmates from attacking each other. “There’s no doubt that security is the core function of a prison, but security means much more than just locking people up and watching them from towers so they don’t escape,” Michael say...

Mar 17, 2021•37 min•Ep. 2

The Job

Meet the prison officers who manage Australia’s worst criminals and you’ll soon learn why they hate being called ‘guards’. In this first episode of Behind the Walls: The Job , crime author and former journalist Michael Duffy takes listeners inside Bathurst, Wellington and Lithgow correctional centres to hear from officers about what it’s really like inside NSW prisons. Michael spent six months recording the series at 11 correctional centres and four Community Corrections offices. “I was a court ...

Mar 13, 2021•23 min•Ep. 1

Behind the Walls Trailer

Listen in to the trailer for Behind the Walls, a ground-breaking six-part podcast series that for the first time takes listeners on a journey into NSW prisons and parole offices. The six-part series will launch on Sunday 14 March with new episodes dropping every Thursday. Podcast host Michael Duffy, a crime author and former journalist, spent six months recording the interviews at 11 correctional centres and four Community Corrections offices, where staff manage offenders on community orders....

Feb 28, 2021•2 min

For the best experience, listen in Metacast app for iOS or Android