Hilman Hambali

Originally submitted in Semester 2 2018 for the subject of The Interview.

We are seated in his daughters’ playroom with toys scattered around where we were sitting. Tom Clark last year had moved to Australia from Singapore with his family.

He moved to Melbourne because he had heard good things about it and knew Melbourne had the title of most livable city in the world at the time. He has been enjoying the people, food and especially the weather with Melbourne’s four seasons in one day compared to Singapore’s hot and humid climate.

Tom worked as a prison officer in Singapore for around ten years and now continued his career in a prison with Corrections Victoria in Melbourne’s CBD.

Tom says he loves working with people behind bars and helping them get back on track.

“If I could be that one percent or that officer that helps them to steer them back to that straight direction and to lead them through their goals of rehabilitation, that would be great for me,” he says.

Tom says he was inspired to work with youth offenders because of his past experiences in his youth.

“I grew up in a broken family. Many, many years ago I nearly became one of the wayward youth and unable to cope with society’s norms. That change my life when I saw some of my friends who were caught and had a dealing with the police. They themselves got involved with the juvenile system. It created a impact for me to tell myself with my experience I should use my knowledge and experience to work with offenders and steer them back into the right direction,” he says.

Coming in to work, Tom stresses the importance of arriving to the job with neat and tidy uniform with polished shoes. He says everyday is different in a prison and they always do various roles there. Once he knows where he is assigned to he always has to do a headcount of the prisoners and then see what programs are on that day through the booking system.

Of course he always has to keep a watchful eye on the prisoners in the cells and out in the yard in case of any fights. Some prisoners can be violent or abusive but he does not feel at danger at work.

“People that come to prison are sometimes drug induced, are withdrawing from ice and other forms of drugs and sometimes they are mentally unwell. As a prison officer, you got to know the background of the prisoner, what are the coping strategies and the management plan to ensure you are safe and your colleagues are safe,” he says.

He finds that dealing with unruly prisoners the hardest part of his job though.

“It is all about dealing violent prisoners or when they turn out ot be abusive. It’s the hardest part. It’s still work and it’s still a career,” he says.

But dealing with these prisoners can be rewarding for him.

“If you able to rationalise with them and explain to them why a certain thing is being done. It will make up your day as a good day,” he says.

“When you meet the same person again, he will appreciate you for showing him his mistakes”.

Tom says it is important to always be motivated, responsible and have a lot of patience as a prison officer. He says negotiating with the prisoners is the most important skill in his career but you also have to look after yourself physically and mentally too. 

“At the end of the day, any stress at work you need to de-escalate and try to work with a positive outcome from it with relaxation exercises or to go for a run. To forget what happens work, remains at work so that you can look forward to be with your family,” he says.

He finds there are differences in culture and regulations between working in prisons in Singapore and Australia. He is tested on Corrections Act during training with an oral test and a written test. They also have to keep updated on policies and regulations during work in case of changes but besides that he does not find much difference in both countries.

“It is still a prison after all”.

He says that he want to work in prisons for the rest of his career as it is gratifying to him.

“Seeing [the prisoners] achieve their goals and, if meet them on the streets and seeing them doing well with their families, it is really rewarding thing for me to see them that they changed,” he says.

But if he didn’t work as a prison officer he thinks he would be working at a McDonald’s.

“I love Maccas and their fries.”