Reforming Women’s Corrections in Western Australia
Reforms to the management of women prisoners, currently being implemented in Western Australia, aim to achieve world’s best practice in women’s corrections.
A key feature of these reforms is the development of the metropolitan low-security prison for women.
The facility is being built on a site adjacent to a previously ‘mothballed’ juvenile detention facility, Nyandi. This was re-opened as a minimum-security prison for women in 1998 to deal with a doubling of the women prisoner population in Western Australia within a five-year period.
In 2001/2002, following a change of government, the newly appointed Western Australian Attorney General, Jim McGinty, together with Department of Justice officials, travelled overseas to investigate best practice in women’s corrections.
(See Report on a Visit to Canada, Minnesota and England http://www.justice.wa.gov.au/content/files/Womens_prisons_trip_final.pdf)
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A proposal for a purpose-built metropolitan low-security prison for women was subsequently developed and approved.
At the same time, a comprehensive survey of the characteristics of women prisoners highlighted the generally ‘low-risk / high-need’ nature of the Western Australian women prisoner population.
(See Executive Summary: Profile of Women. Department of Justice. June 2002. http://www.justice.wa.gov.au/content/files/profile_of_women_in_prison.pdf)
The results of the survey on the nature and profile of women prisoners were consistent with studies conducted in other parts of Australia. These studies clearly highlight that the basis of women’s offending is often an interplay of drug and alcohol issues precipitated by pervasive histories of lifelong abuse and victimization. This includes sexual abuse, domestic violence, rape and other trauma, together with related mental health issues.
Acting Director of Women’s Custodial Services Jane Sampson, said the survey clearly showed that women prisoners are a highly vulnerable population, with few employment and life skills, supports or resources.
“In addition, a high proportion of women prisoners are mothers or care-givers, with sole responsibility for children, and the lives of these children can be seriously disrupted by parental imprisonment,” she said.
The results of the ‘Survey of Women Prisoners’, along with high rates of women’s imprisonment and recidivism rates in Western Australia as compared to other Australian states, have made it clear that new and more effective approaches are needed to address women’s offending.
Superintendent of the low-security prison for women, Christine Ginbey, said simply ‘warehousing’ prisoners without attending to the underlying causes of offending and recidivism does nothing to equip them to live law abiding lifestyles upon their release from custody.
“Furthermore, management and service delivery for low-risk women offenders is clearly a very different proposition to approaches applied to more high-risk male offender populations,” she said.
Based on these understandings, the Western Australian metropolitan low-security prison for women has the following objectives:
The principles underpinning the philosophy for the metropolitan low security prison for women include:
The redeveloped prison will set new standards for women’s corrections and is intended as a benchmark for reforms across Western Australian prison services overall.
The innovative design and daily activities of the prison will mirror responsibilities faced by women in everyday life and will support a strong community and family focus, with a strong emphasis on preparation for reentry into the community. Staff will be chosen for their interpersonal skills and suitability to work with women and their children in a low-security environment.
“A self-care model of accommodation is being implemented at the prison within a normalised, campus-style environment,” Christine explained.
“17 individual houses are being built to the HomesWest (Western Australian public housing authority) standard, with account taken of Aboriginal architectural design considerations. As well we have incorporated best practice disability access standards.
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“The prison will accommodate up to 70 women, and each woman will be allocated her own bedroom within each residence and share other facilities, such as kitchen, bathroom and laundry areas.
“Women will undertake household chores such as cooking, cleaning, budgeting and shopping for essentials, with the guidance and assistance of staff where necessary,” said Christine.
“Children to age four will be accommodated with their mothers, and school aged and other children will have access to extended visits.
“Intermediate care accommodation will be provided for women needing temporary additional support or respite from the self-care environment,” she said.
The prison will have a focus on drug management, with drug treatments including pharmacological and therapeutic treatment programs provided.
Providing women with opportunities to address their personal and family needs and issues as well as their offending behaviour will be of key importance to equip them for successful re-entry into the community. With improved health, work and education skills, the women will be better able to take responsibility for their choices - thereby reducing the risk of re-offending.
The centralised location of the prison, within the Perth metropolitan area, is crucially important as it permits access to locally available education and training institutions, local work and traineeship opportunities, community-based health and welfare services, public transport and other amenities.
The prison will facilitate women’s participation in voluntary and community work that provide opportunities for reparation as well as facilitating the family and community contact necessary for maintenance of essential relationships and development of re-entry supports. Rather than being isolated, the prison aims to maximise the potential for women to positively, confidently and safely reintegrate with their families and communities.
Development of the low-security prison for women has involved extensive consultation with a wide variety of stakeholders. A Community Advisory Group, formed from self-nominated local business and community representatives and local residents, has provided input into the development of the prison and will continue its work once the facility is commissioned in May 2004.
Advice has also been provided by a Project Reference Group, comprising international, national and local experts in the fields of women’s imprisonment, restorative justice, women’s health, family services, Aboriginal issues, pastoral care, women’s advocacy and social policy.
Volunteers are being recruited to assist in the delivery of services and essential supports to the women prisoners, their children and families, with a focus on addressing women’s re-entry needs.
As well partnerships have been developed with local organisations and neighbours including Swan Village of Care, Technology Park, Curtin University and others.
The volunteer, Community Advisory Group and neighbourhood partnership strategies reflect the commitment of the Western Australian Government and Department of Justice to community engagement and participation.
For further information about the Low Security Prison for Women contact:
Christine Ginbey
Project Manager and Superintendent
Department of Justice
Nyandi Prison
3 Allen Court
BENTLEY
WESTERN AUSTRALIA 6102
Tel: (08) 9464 3177
christine.ginbey@justice.wa.gov.au