What life will be like in prison for Cardinal George Pell

Cardinal George Pell is about to spend his first night behind bars at the Melbourne Assessment Prison after having his bail revoked.

The maximum-security facility provides primary state-wide assessment and orientation services for male prisoners received into the prison system, meaning he will be housed at the unit until he is sent to the prison where he will spend most of his time behind bars.

Melbourne Assessment Prison can cater for more than 300 prisoners and will see Pell locked up alongside Bourke Street killer James Gargasoulas and Eurydice Dixon’s murderer Jaymes Todd.

The former treasurer to the Vatican is expected to spend at least the next two weeks behind bars after his bail was revoked. He is due to be sentenced on March 13.

Pell was found guilty in December of orally raping a 13-year-old choirboy and molesting another after Sunday mass at St Patrick's Cathedral in East Melbourne in 1996.

Pell will be taken to the prison -  on the edge of the city's CBD – where he will enter via a side entrance with a secure airlock and rolling metal doors.

He will be strip-searched upon arrival and issued a standard prison uniform.

While Pell will be able to wear a religious necklace, all other personal belongings must be handed over – his personal belongings will be held in a secure location.

During this introduction, Pell will undergo basic checks for physical and mental health.

Because of his high profile and the nature crimes committed, Pell could be a target from other prisoners behind bars attempting to make a name for themselves inside – a factor also taken into consideration during the initial checks.

Other prisoners requiring protection from other inmates are placed in isolation for 23 hours a day.

If this is the case for Pell, he will likely only be released from a suicide-proof cell for one hour every day in which he will be able to walk around a small isolated yard topped with razor wire.

However, this does not ensure Pell’s safety. Despite guard supervision, accused killer Borce Ristevski was bashed in the very same yard on his first day inside Melbourne Assessment Prison .

After the prison is in lockdown, Pell will be moved to his cell and will be given what is called an “immediate needs pack”.

The pack contains:

• $3 phone credit

• 1 toothbrush

• 1 small tube of toothpaste

• A bag containing sachets of coffee and sugar, and tea bags

• 600 ml of full cream milk

• Two condoms

Pell will be permitted limited visitors and will have select number of people on a call list.

He will receive a weekly allowance of $35 which can be spent on canteen items - shampoo, soap a, tea and coffee - and on monitored phone calls.

Pell will have a shower in his cell and will be given access to books, legal materials and a TV.

The prison has set meal times - breakfast at 8am, lunch at 11.30am and dinner at 3.30pm – with meals rotating between fish, pork, and beef.

During his time in time prison, Pell will only be allowed the following items:

• 6 pairs of jocks or boxer shorts

• 6 pairs of socks

• 2 singlets

• 2 windcheaters or tracksuit tops or jumpers or jackets 

• Court clothing (This includes: trousers, jacket, shirt, tie, and dress shoes)

• 4 tops (t-shirt, polo top, long sleeve topuit pants, trousers, jeans, shorts)

• 1 pair of pyjamas

• 1 pair of shoes/runners

• 1 pair of scuffs/slides/thongs

• 1 belt (small buckle - subject to prison discretion)

• 1 cap

• 2 pairs of reading glasses in soft case

• 6 books

• 6 magazines

• 6 photographs (laminated/polaroids not accepted)

After his sentencing, Pell will be moved to a more permanent prison where he will have to learn the ropes once more.

One potential site where Pell could spend time behind bars is Port Phillip Prison, where the 77-year-old would be close to medical facilities.

Hopkins Correctional Centre in Ararat, 200km west of Melbourne, is considered another possible destination. Likewise, he could be sent to Barwon Prison -  the location where gangland murderer Carl Williams was killed and drug boss Tony Mokbel was recently stabbed.