| Longmore Remand and Assessment Centre |
| Years of Operation | From 1965 and ongoing in 2004 under the responsibility of the Department of Justice |
| Role Of Facility | At its inception, Longmore provided short-term residential care for arrested children awaiting Court appearances; those on remand; and those committed to the Department as wards, who are assessed and placed.
By 1978, the Remand and Assessment programmes in Longmore were separated, though there were many shared services.
In 1979, the stated function of the Remand Centre was the “care and protection in maximum security for young people who have been arrested and charged by the police and are awaiting court appearances, as well as those remanded in custody by the courts. The social education of young people in preparation for their return to the community is also seen as an essential function of the Longmore Remand Centre.”
The function of the Assessment Centre at the time of the split in 1979 was to assess each child with a view to being able to make “an informed and meaningful plan in terms of the child’s future placement and needs.”
In September 1983 the Longmore Remand and Assessment Centres were once again combined and a separate establishment, the Longmore Training Centre [see entry], was housed in premises previously used by the Assessment Centre.
At this time, the main functions of the restructured Remand and Assessment Centre were:
“Remand – to provide secure accommodation for children who have been arrested and charged with an offence or offences and who are awaiting appearance in Court, and for children who have been remanded in custody either for a further appearance in the Children’s Court or for appearances in the District or Supreme Court.
Assessment – to provide assessment of children who have been convicted by a Court and Placed Under the Control of the Department. A Case Conference held within three to four days after admission decides whether to release the child or to recommend placement in a secure Training Centre (Longmore Training Centre, Riverbank or Nyandi), taking into account the Court’s recommendation to the Department.” |
| Sponsoring Agency | Departmental - predessors to the current Department for Child Protection and Family Support until 1993, now Department of Justice |
| Aliases | Longmore Detention Centre. |
| Brief History | Reformatory for 36 boys and 24 girls (aged 13 -18 years) under construction in 1964. Named after Mr James Longmore, who had worked for Barnardo’s in England in the late 1800s, then in Tasmania, and eventually became the Secretary of the State Children Department in WA for 20 years. It was Mr Longmore to whom the “more enlightened sections” of the Child Welfare Act 1927 were attributed.
In 1979, the Welstat (welfare statistics) report identified the Longmore Assessment and Remand facilities as Institutions (ie a “residential child care establishment that is mainly for child offenders, children on remand for alleged offences or uncontrolled children, and that has, as one of its aims, the full-time secure detention of its child.)”
By 1980, the Longmore Remand Centre could accommodate 22 boys and girls aged 13 to 18 years and the Assessment Centre provided assessment facilities “in a maximum security setting” for up to 60 children aged 13 to 18 years.
In 1983, the Remand and Assessment Centres were reunited, as a result of recommendations made by Professor Eric Edwards in his inquiry into the Treatment of Juvenile Offenders. A separate institution, the Longmore Training Centre [see entry] was set up in the premises previously used by the Assessment Centre. By 1986, Longmore Remand and Assessment Centre could accommodate 32 boys and girls aged 12 to 17 years.
By 1988 the Longmore Remand and Assessment Centre was no longer reported in the Annual Reports of the Department as a secure detention facility, but it was mentioned as continuing to provide accommodation services for young people with pre-Court or remand admissions.
A more detailed chronology of major events, admissions and discharges is included in Table 22. |
| Records | Records of young people in secure detention at Longmore up until 1993 when the facility came under the control of the Department of Justice are held by the Department of Communities. |
| Access | While access to records is restricted to protect the privacy of individuals, people are encouraged to enquire. |
| Contact Details | Freedom of Information
Department of Communities
Locked Bag 5000, Fremantle WA 6959
Telephone: (08) 6414 3344
Country free call: 1800 176 888
Email: foi@communities.wa.gov.au
Website: www.communities.wa.gov.au |
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