| Longmore Training Centre |
| Years of Operation | September 1983 and ongoing in 2004 under the responsibility of the Department of Justice. |
| Role Of Facility | A maximum security facility for boys aged 12 to 16 years (the minimum age for entry to Longmore TC dropped from the initial 13 years by 1985) and generally with a history of serious or recurrent offending, for a period of one to six months. “While the children are detained at the Centre attempts to provide for their normal development and to use the period purposefully be providing training that will lead to a reduction in the child’s offending behaviour” was offered. (Annual Report of the Department for Community Welfare, June 30th 1984).
Aftercare and hostel support were provided at the conclusion of a boy’s sentence.
“The main aim of the Centre is to prepare boys for their return to the general community at the end of their sentences. Consequently, there is an emphasis on encouraging them to consider their future, and on providing them with information that will be relevant to their lifestyle and needs.” (Annual Report of the Department for Community Services, June 30th 1985).
A community hostel, with the capacity to accommodate six boys, was located in the grounds of the Training Centre.
By 1986, the capacity of the Longmore Training Centre was reported as 40 boys.
In 1986/87, in response to overcrowding, it was determined that boys less than 14 years would be referred to Nyandi rather than Longmore. Thus, in the 1987/88 year, Longmore Training Centre began admitting boys aged 14 to 16 years only. (Annual Report of the Department for Community Services, June 30th 1988).
A more detailed chronology of major events, admissions and discharges is included in Table 23. |
| Sponsoring Agency | Department for Community Welfare until 1993, now Department of Justice |
| Address(es) | 21 Adie Court, Bentley |
| Brief History | The original facility [Longmore Remand and Assessment Centre, see entry] was 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.
The Longmore Training Centre was established in response to recommendations made in the 1982 Edwards inquiry into The Treatment of Juvenile Offenders in Western Australia. Professor Edwards recommended, among other things, that Hillston [see entry] be phased out as a secure institution, and that Longmore develop a training facility to assist young people emerge from the juvenile justice system with improved skills.
Part of the re-organisation of the Longmore Remand and Assessment Centre saw the Longmore Training Centre established in premises previously occupied by the Assessment Centre.
A more detailed chronology of major events, admissions and discharges is included in the Table which follows. |
| 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 for Child Protection and Family Support. |
| 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) 6217 6888
Country free call: 1800 176 888
Email: foi@communities.wa.gov.au
Website: www.communities.wa.gov.au |
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