| Nyandi |
| Years of Operation | From 1970 - October 1997 |
| Role Of Facility | Long-term rehabilitative care of 30 girls in a secure establishment.
In the Annual Report of the Department for Community Welfare in 1976, Nyandi’s function was described as being to “provide training and socialization of adolescent girls who, in the majority, have committed a number of offences. However a number of dependent but not delinquent girls are being referred to Nyandi care for brief social training.”
In 1979, the Welstat (welfare statistics) report defined Nyandi as an Institution (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.)”. This definition was extrapolated in the 1980 Annual Report of the Department for Community Welfare, which noted: “girls aged from 13 to 18 years are catered for by the Nyandi treatment and research complex. Generally girls are referred to Nyandi because they have been demonstrating unacceptable behaviour in the community. The Nyandi system of treatment is conducted through a secure unit, three residential hostels and a comprehensive after-care service.”
By 1984, following the recommendations made by Professor Edwards’ Treatment of Juvenile Offenders report, the Annual Report indicated the two clear categories of girls who were admitted into the Nyandi system. These comprised:
“Welfare Preventative Cases:
The main presenting problems are behaviours which would put a girl at risk. Many girls in this group have criminal convictions, but these are of a minor nature. The reason for referral is to attend to Welfare needs. Half the admissions to the complex in the 83-84 financial year were in this group.
Offenders:
The other reason for referral is the girl’s criminal convictions.”
In 1985, Nyandi’s secure unit was described in the Annual Report as having the goals of reducing “offending, to maintain the security, safety and well-being of girls and staff, to see that girls are disadvantaged as little as possible by their stay in custody, and to see that their legal entitlements are met. The philosophy has been to use the period of custody to teach personal and social skills which enable girls to have realistic alternatives to offending on release.”
In June 1986, Nyandi’s secure detention unit for the first time accepted boys aged 12 to 14 years into its program. |
| Sponsoring Agency | Department of Child Welfare; from 1993 Department of Justice |
| Address(es) | 3 Allen Court, Bentley |
| Aliases | Nyandi Girls’ Treatment Centre, Nyandi Training Centre, Nyandi Detention Centre for Girls. The Maximum Security Centre at Nyandi was known as “Pineview” and the on-site hostel as “Gwynne-Lea.” |
| Brief History | Established February 1970 as a “maximum security training centre with supportive hostel accommodation for the long-term treatment of girls whose behavioural problems could not be effectively treated in more open situations.” The hostel within the grounds is known as "Gwynlea" and accommodates 16 girls. By 1980, there were two other hostels associated with Nyandi - Watson Lodge (first identified as an adjunct to Nyandi in 1976) and Karingal.
By 1984, only Gwynne Lea and Karingal were residential; Watson Lodge provided day programs only [see entries].
Nyandi’s Aftercare Unit in 1984 consisted of five Groupworkers; three part-time Homemakers; one part-time Teacher and one Social Worker and concentrated “on working with the girl in her immediate social environment.”
During the 1986/87 year, Nyandi Administration undertook a review of the Nyandi System, with a number of changes to the service being made as a result. These included extending the secure detention service for the first time to boys aged 12-14 years, and increasing its capacity to its previous 20-beds; and extending the programmes available through Watson Lodge and the Karingal Unit [see entries].
Nyandi became the responsibility of the Department of Justice on July 1, 1993.
It closed as a juvenile dention centre in October 1997 and from 1998 became the Nyandi women's prison. (Report from the Office of the Inspector of Custodial Services.)
A more detailed chronology of major events, admissions and discharges is included in Table 33. |
| Records | Records of young people in secure detention at Nyandi up until 1993 (when the facility came under the control of the Department of Justice) are held by the Department for Child Protection. |
| 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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