A mistake unlocks much good

Many believe they are born to do a job and set their sights on it from a young age. Others stumble into it by accident.

The latter was the case for Adult Community Corrections Kimberley manager Cassandra Gilbert, who was one of many from Broome acknowledged during National Corrections Day on Friday.

The inaugural nationwide celebration recognised the hard work, skill, dedication and contribution corrective services staff made in a variety of roles.

Now managing 31 staff in the Kimberley who facilitate offenders in the community, Ms Gilbert is passionate about the work she does. She said the recognition felt “absolutely fabulous” but her pathway to her vocation was a little unorthodox.

The Broome-based manager studied psychology at Edith Cowan University in Perth and her journey to her role began the day she sat down in the wrong lecture.

Being young and fresh out of school, Ms Gilbert felt too awkward to leave the criminology class, so she listened and it sparked her interest in criminal behaviours.

Later, when studying no longer felt right for her, she applied to be an officer at Perth’s Casuarina Prison, where she worked for nine years in several departments.

One of those departments was community corrections. “I wasn’t happy being a prison officer anymore and I went into community corrections,” she said.

“I really liked it and could see there were many benefits working with prisoners going into the community.”

Ms Gilbert undertook her first regional role in 2010, working as a team leader in the Pilbara, before taking on the manager’s role in the Kimberley two years later. “I get a lot of satisfaction out of seeing change,” she said.

“It’s not an easy job but I see the good in people. There’s an element of me that likes to work with offenders and see the changes that they make in their lives.

“From a manger’s perspective, it’s more about passing my knowledge on to my staff and seeing the good work that they do. But I’ve come up from the hands-on roles, so I feel very confident to step in when I need to.”

Ms Gilbert said community corrections was a much bigger role than people might think and she was pleased she and her team were recognised.

“It feels great to be acknowledged because, in my opinion, community corrections has always been overlooked,” she said. “I have a really great team of people who are very passionate about what they do.”

The ACC team, prison officers and others gathered for a barbecue to celebrate the inaugural day of recognition at Broome Regional Prison on Friday.

Corrective Services Minister Fran Logan thanked all staff in the State for “their service to WA in keeping our communities safe”.