In the decades-long conversation about conditions at Her Majesty’s Penitentiary, correctional officers are rarely heard. They do not speak publicly over concerns for their employment and instead are represented in public by the union president.

But the reports offer rare insight into the situations staff at the St. John’s prison face when they go to work and the frustration they feel over a lack of action for both themselves and the inmates alongside them. The names of the guards are redacted in the records provided to CBC News.

There were reports of black mould, poor ventilation, a consistent burning smell and extreme heat. Chief among the complaints, however, were rodents.

The rodent infestation has been so extreme over the last year and a half that one correctional officer noted, "It’s to the point you’re almost tripping over them.