Bandyup Women's Prison

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Bandyup Women's Prison is located in the northeastern rural Perth suburb of West Swan, Western Australia. Prior to its construction, the female prisoners were at Fremantle Prison, which was overcrowded and offered women limited opportunities.Bandyup Women’s Prison holds sentenced and remand prisoners of all security classifications. It is run as a maximum security prison though only 10% of the women are categorised as maximum security. It is the only prison for women on remand or sentenced in the Perth metropolitan area. The prison is inspected every three years by the state Office for the Inspector of Custodial Services.HistoryWomen prisoners in Western Australia were housed at Fremantle Gaol until a Women’s Rehabilitation Centre was opened in 1969. Bandyup Training Centre, the precursor to Bandyup Women’s Prison, was opened in 1971. It was originally built to hold 68 women. In 1998, following civil society agitation, an urgency motion and debate was held in state parliament about the conditions at Bandyup. The prison was so overcrowded that women were sleeping on mattresses on the floor. A major refurbishment of the prison with the addition of new units, completed in 2003, brought the total design capacity to 180. Not long after, however, overcrowding again became an issue and continues to this day.