MEDIA RELEASE

BANDYUP WOMEN'S PRISON: PROGRESS BUT FURTHER IMPROVEMENT REQUIRED

The third inspection of Bandyup Women's Prison carried out 20 to 24 April 2008 produced a mixed result in identifying both considerable gains in some areas, alongside those in which further improvement is clearly needed.

Initially, it is important to acknowledge that Bandyup has a very experienced, competent and supportive management team, and for the most part staff treat prisoners with respect and courtesy, and endeavour to address prisoner concerns. One very positive initiative within the prison since the last inspection has been the introduction of a structured day for prisoners which maximises personal choice and responsibility on the part of the women, and encourages and rewards personal development activities. Another positive feature of the Bandyup environment is the extent to which the prison has forged strong links and high levels of prisoner engagement with community agencies, including services to support the transition of women back into the community.

However, central to this inspection was the question of whether Bandyup embodied a women-centred approach to custodial management consistent with the Department of Corrective Services' philosophy for the management of women prisoners, and whether
the very distinctive needs of Aboriginal prisoners were being met. In these matters the prison fell somewhat short, both in the provision of appropriate treatment and intervention programs, and services to Aboriginal women generally, and services to support the maintenance of family relationships and responsibilities.

Women often come into prison with family responsibilities that require significant effort to manage, and while the prison has gone some way towards recognising the needs of women in this regard, it has not gone far enough. For example, a lack of progress on providing video based visits for out-of-country prisoners and a need for more family days at the prison are short-comings that need to be remedied. In this context, a high priority for the Department must be replacement of the visits centre at Bandyup which is small, ill-equipped, and completely inadequate for family visits.

The lack of treatment and intervention programs specifically targeting the needs of women within the prison system is a glaring gap. The Department has failed to progress development of the Reconnections program despite a successful trial at Bandyup in 2005, and more importantly has not provided any resources to develop and implement the Women's Treatment and Intervention Model. Efforts by local management to close the gap with community programs including a successful Family Violence Program are to be commended, but do not disguise the fact that the Department is not meeting its fundamental responsibility to address the essential
programmatic needs of women in custody.

On the question of whether the needs of the Aboriginal women at Bandyup are being met, a similar picture emerged of a prison going to some lengths at a local level to address these needs, but without the necessary wherewithal. In particular adequate
Aboriginal representation in management and custodial staffing, and the provision of culturally appropriate services is lacking. It is my view that the Department of Corrective Services has yet to demonstrate that it understands and is committed to resourcing services to meet the needs of Aboriginal prisoners at Bandyup and across the prison system.

In summary, Bandyup Women's Prison continues to progress, but there is some way to go before the prison can genuinely claim to be delivering a women-centred custodial management regime, and to be meeting the needs of Aboriginal women.

Barry Cram
Acting Inspector of Custodial Services
20 January 2009
Barry Cram will be available for comment from 12 noon on Tuesday 20 January and can be contacted
on 9212 6200 or 0403 387 441.
The full Report will be available on the Inspector's website (www.custodialinspector.wa.gov.au)