Inside Ben Roberts-Smith’s Silverwater imprisonment on war crimes charges
Even though he knew it was coming, the harsh reality of being arrested would hit Ben Roberts-Smith the hardest when he got out of a white Hyundai van and entered Silverwater Prison in handcuffs.
Inside, the man who met the late Queen and was extolled by political leaders and corporate titans has entered a world stripped of rank and dignity. After checking in at a purple reception desk next to a row of steel-barred cells, the disgraced soldier was put through a scanner used to replace standard strip searches to check for any hidden banned objects or substances, before being put into a small locker room.
He was told to surrender his jeans and blue polo shirt and change into bottle-green prison clothes and velcro sneakers made by his fellow inmates. All items that could be used to cause self-harm, including shoelaces, drawstrings, ties, and belts, were removed and placed in an item tub.
Roberts-Smith was given a copy of the Male Prisoner Handbook (the bible of what he can and can’t do inside) and was given a six-digit Master Index Number, which he would keep for life.
This was all just the beginning of a rigorous screening process designed to prepare new inmates for a very different existence. The Superintendent of Custodial Services has previously described the admissions process as a “stressful and volatile period” that was also labor-intensive for nervous staff.
reporter And Age We have confirmed that Roberts-Smith has been assigned as a high-profile protection prisoner, meaning he does not need to share a standard cell with another person for now. It’s a small mercy: the standard cells at Silverwater are small, sparse, and have shared outdoor toilets. But Roberts-Smith was still assigned to a standard wing with other prisoners; The majority remain in custody after being denied bail for alleged domestic violence offences, drug charges, gang assaults, robberies and other violent crimes. Outside his cell, he would spend time with these men in shared recreation areas, his every movement monitored by a network of cameras and other surveillance equipment.
Roberts-Smith is expected to spend many nights behind bars as lawyers and prosecutors unravel her case in the coming months and years. Time will not make his stay at Silverwater, one of Sydney’s busiest and most volatile prisons, any more intolerable.
The 47-year-old man arrived at 6pm on Tuesday after being arrested at Sydney Airport that morning. The former Special Air Service Regiment corporal, a loving media executive, flew from Brisbane with his girlfriend and daughters and met several police officers and investigators on board.
He was immediately arrested and later charged with five counts of war crimes, including murder, following a joint investigation between the Special Investigation Bureau and the AFP. The maximum penalty for the crime is life imprisonment.
The Silverwater team, led by sensible governor Patrick Aboud, had been warned to prepare for a high-profile arrival. A veteran of the Sydney prison system, Aboud is no stranger to prominent visitors: he oversaw the imprisonment of Roger Rogerson, Abe Saffron and Neddy Smith, Harriet Wran, daughter of former NSW premier Neville Wran, and most recently Daniel Billings, whose frenzied knife attack on Forbes childcare worker Molly Ticehurst shocked the nation.
But Roberts-Smith is in a category of her own. War crime charges are rare in Australia, and the only other person charged to date – Oliver Schulz – does not have the profile Roberts-Smith has or the support of billionaires such as Gina Rinehart and media mogul Kerry Stokes. The stakes in the Roberts-Smith case – including how he is treated behind bars while the legal system runs its course – could not be higher.
Within the Silverwater complex, the Metropolitan Detention and Reception Center is responsible for a number of inmates, usually those detained on remand or those awaiting imminent transfer to another prison. During a recent tour, reporter Of the 1,370 inmates at Silverwater, about 500 are facing domestic violence charges, it said. Prisoners are allocated a number of categories, including maximum, medium and minimum security, as well as prisoners who have escaped and been recaptured or attempted to escape, known as the ‘E’ category.
Roberts-Smith’s life will be managed according to various minimum standards applied to all prisons by Corrective Services NSW. He was entitled to receive four short or long-sleeved shirts, two woolen tracksuit pants, two shorts, four undershirts and seven panties and socks.
He will be allowed to exercise outdoors for at least two hours each day in the prison’s basic gyms, but will likely remain locked in his cell for at least 16 hours a day like other inmates. Breakfast will consist of six slices of bread, cereal and packets of coffee or tea to be served in the cell. Lunch will be prepared and packed in advance, and dinner, also prepared by the inmates, will be served early. If Roberts-Smith is ultimately found guilty, which is very likely, she could spend the rest of her life this way.
Unconvicted inmates like Roberts-Smith are allowed three free local calls a week for personal reasons, but all calls are recorded and traceable. Calls to their legal representatives may be monitored but are not allowed to be recorded. If he wants to have more personal calls per week, he can have as many calls as he wants for up to six minutes each, but this will be done through the user paid pin system.
When Roberts-Smith makes a call, the person on the other end will hear a recorded message: “This is a call from an inmate at Silverwater Correctional Facility. Your call may be monitored. If you do not wish to accept this call, you can hang up now.”
Roberts-Smith still has some prominent defenders, and her family has remained loyal to her. Few people will hang up if he calls, but his presence in Silverwater is very different from what they’re used to. Before his arrest, the ex-soldier was believed to be spending time at the four-star Emporium Hotel on Brisbane’s South Bank, which offers views of the Brisbane River from its suites and rooftop pool; Hollywood actor Kevin Costner was also recently welcomed as a guest. The difference between then and now could not be starker.
Roberts-Smith will remain behind bars until at least April 17, when he will appear before Downing Center Local Court for a bail hearing.
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Bevan Shields is a senior writer and former editor of The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.
