Inside Bandyup Womens Prison Em 21 May, 2008 - 12:04 PM

Spending the afternoon at Bandiyup women's prison was one occasion in my life I won't soon forget.

I wasn't really sure what to expect, I am ashamed to admit I had visions of striped uniforms and dirty looking women running their mugs along the bars of their cell. What I found was a community of women making the best of a pretty awful situation.

Don't get me wrong, there are some prisoners in Bandiyup that should never be allowed to mix with the general public again. However there are also prisoners who made one stupid decision and as a result found themselves locked behind bars away from their loved ones for a considerable amount of time.

Driving along Middle Swan Rd I instantly noticed the cyclone fencing and razor wire. I felt a little nervous and uneasy about what I was about to see. The only experience I have had with any jail was a couple of episodes of Prison Break and watching Prisoner as a kid.

We entered through a small gate and walked across what looked like a train track then through another small gate under the watchful eye of several guards. We were taken to the security check point and given personal security alarms; they were like garage door remote controls and attached to the waist of your pants. A large red button was on the remote and was to be pushed if at anytime we felt we were in danger. (Yes, you can imagine my reaction to this eyes popping, heart racing, and sweat beading)

I was then taken to meet Superintendent Marie Chatwin, an obvious veteran of the correctional services. Please don't misunderstand me; Marie was lovely however she had an air of discipline and authority about her that screamed. Don't screw with me. I doubt Marie has ever taken any crap from anyone in her life.

Marie took me through prison life, we discussed some of her more high profile prisoners (sorry guys I agreed to keep that one between her and I) and I fired about 5000 questions at her. Ranging from: Has anyone tried to shank you?to Can the girls buy some lip gloss should the need strike?

Marie was very quick to point out that while going to prison was the punishment given to these women, their time there didn't need to be horrible. Many of the prisoners worked to make money ($50 a week) by gardening or working in the laundry and some sewed cushions for breast cancer survivors. Others made knickers and socks for the local women's shelter. Courses are available and it seems Bandiyup is very much about rehabilitating these women rather than constantly reprimanding them.

The jail seemed to be run like a small village, all the prisoners have timetables to follow.I saw an art room, gym, canteen, laundry and other facilities I did not expect to see in a prison.

The cells were pretty scary; I am not going to paint a rosy picture here. They were incredibly small, dark, and cold and I don't know if I would be able to get through the mandatory 12 hour lockdown that happens each night.

There is a real air of sadness that hangs over the jail; a lot of the women there seem to be carrying the weight of the world on their shoulders.

If you are a mother - I want you to think about all the responsibilities you have in your life. Do you pay the bills? Cook dinner? Make the lunches for school? Drop off the kids and them pick them up?The list is probably endless right?Now I want you to imagine going to court, being convicted and being sent straight to jail with no one to help you carry out that endless list on the outside. That is the situation a lot of these women find themselves in; they arrive at the jail in a state of panic because they have no-one to pick their children up from school. I had absolutely no appreciation for that until going into Bandiyup and actually putting myself in their shoes.

I was surprised at how prisoners were able to roam the grounds fairly freely and how they mixed those in there for minor offences with murderers and drug dealers. There were a lot of young women in there, and that really shocked me. If I saw them in the street I would never have picked them for inmates at a maximum security jail.

I was then taken to The Nursery. This is where inmates who have either given birth in the jail or chosen to take their infant in with them stay. You are able to keep your children in with you up until they turn 1 and then they must go to be with a relative, or worst case scenario put into foster care.Ã' I could not think of a worse place to raise a child, could you? However isn't a child best of with their Mother? I thought long and hard about wether or not I could part with Odie or Chella in the first 12 months of their life and I can't 100% say that I would have been able to let them go. The nursery was a bit smelly and pretty depressing to be honest, it needed a good bottle of disinfectant and a visit from renovation rescue.

Now I hear some of you screaming It sounds like a holiday camp, why should they have a decent life I can assure you Bandiyup women's prison is FAR from a holiday camp, these women are locked down for 12 hours every night. Told when to eat, work and sleep it is a complete deprivation on freedom.

I want you all to really consider this: most of these women will enter back into society, YOUR society.Shop at your grocery store, their kids may even go to school with your kids. Wouldn't you rather these women be rehabilitated, educated and counselled so that they can be contributing, functioning members of the community when they get out of prison?Ã' If we took the attitude of making their lives hell for their entire stay in prison, the reality is they will come out far worse than how they went in. The prison tries to look at why a woman commits a crime and addresses that issue. Be it drugs or a psychological problem.

For those criminals who have committed unspeakable acts and will never again be apart of our world, I can promise you all there is a certain type of in house justice that goes on. Those women are often ostracised from the group and spend a lot of time on their own.

I have thought about this from every angle. What if one of these women was in Bandiyup because she got behind the wheel of her car and caused an accident that killed someone I loved?Ã' Would I be as open minded and accepting as I am being now?

Maybe not at first, however I'd like to think I'd be able to work through that and realise she's probably just like me and made a terrible mistake that will stay with her as it would me for the rest of her life.

I hope you got something out of the interview, I hope it didn't upset anyone who has suffered a loss at the hand of an in-mate in Bandiyup prison. They are criminals, they are doing their time I am by no means glorifying that; I just want you to remember that they are humans as well.

There but for the grace of god go I; John Bradford (b. 1510 - d. 1555)

Em xxx

(11) »

• Emma says

  Thanks Em for that "inside" look at prison life at Bandyup.

  I think the part that definitely touched me is your thoughts on being a mother who has all kinds of responsibilities in the "outside" world (as I do), like making dinner, lunches, picking up and dropping off your child.... Even something simple, like giving your child a hug when she hurts herself... Suddenly not being there to do those things must be the WORST punishment of all for some of the women incarcerated. I know it would be mine.

  I cannot comment on the crimes committed by any of the women - I am certain a few more than deserve their punishment, however surely no one can argue that their children deserve what they have suffered due to their mother's crimes?

  I also am unsure of how I feel about a child being allowed to live in the nursery until they are 1. My child is only 15 months old and I doubt either of us could survive apart. I understand a child has needs, that no doubt Bandyup does not cater to once a child is thinking, imagining, growing... but I cannot even imagine my child's devastation at being separated from me.

  It is a shame that more is not done to create a safe, fun, pretty place for the children to stay while they are in the nursery...

  Thanks again Em - great blog!

  Posted Thursday 22 May, 2008 9:40 AM
• kiara says

  Am I able to see the video?? I hear dabout it in the morning on the way to work like every other day but i forgot to have a look at video that was posted? Am i able to still view that?? Please?
  x

  Posted Friday 23 May, 2008 10:01 AM
• Em says

  Hi Kiara
  Not sure where you heard about the video but the prison wouldn't allow us to take a video camera inside. However there are photos which you can find in our gallery section.

  Em xxx

  Posted Friday 23 May, 2008 12:42 PM
• Matt says

  The old saying is 'do the crime pay the time', however that never seems to be enough for the general population. Being locked up can happen to anyone, and then being stereo typed as a crimial once released gives little or no chance for transition back into society. My tansition from soldier to civilian was hell, I could not begin to understand what it must be like for someone released for prison after a long period of time.

  Posted Thursday 29 May, 2008 12:20 PM
• Mitch says

  I think the interview that em did was awesome, for one woman to go in there (Bandyup) and see how it is from the outside looking in is just bittersweet...knowing that these people will be coming back into my suburb brings no fear to me what so ever, infact em's interview with Marie has calmed any fears that I had of this occuring so good on you em and 92.9 Keep up the good work

  Posted Saturday 5 July, 2008 12:56 PM
• michelle harper says

  hi Em just read your blogg and yes its sad to see people go down that path, but you know what is really sad all the young kids in the juvinile detention centre some are there for major crimes, some for silly mistakes ( the same as the women you speek about) but the really sad thing is most of these kids offend time and time again because things are better in there than at home and that is if they are lucky enough to have a home.

  Posted Thursday 10 July, 2008 9:58 PM
• michelle martin says

  hi em,
  thank you for the insight of daily living in prison.what saddens me the most is that the little ones either born or taken into the inside life have to suffer too.what really made me sad was the lack of play equipment in the outside area and the comment you made about the smell in the nursery.we dont like to see children suffer but i know that some dont have a chioce but to take their little ones in there so the least anyone can do is make sure they are looked after and given the respect ALL children deserve no matter what horrible things their parents have done.we as a society complain about "kids"today well what do these kids get?nothing!
  i ell me knids everyday be greatful for what you have and if you think that you deserve more look at these kids that have nothing but walls and basics and be thankful you have the life you have.
  again em
  thank you for sharing this with us.i hope i havent ranted to much but these things touch me as i have 4 kids and my youngest is 1 1/2.

  Posted Saturday 12 July, 2008 1:08 AM
• Andrea Briggs says

  I went to visit my house mates friend in Cassurina Prison. I didn't like it, even as a visitor. He didn't like talking about what it was like in there so I stopped asking and followed my house mates lead by talking about when he gets out and what it's like on the outside these days. My house mate is a shit stirer and when his prisoner mate rung he told him we had fish and chips and went to the movies and when we went to visit he told him we had ice cream in Rockingham. They don't get things like that in there. I told him to stop being a stirer. I'd hate to lose my freedom like that. They got no choice on what to do, they got to do what they're told. I never visited anyone in Bandiyup. I didn't like it when we had to line up and get sniffed by the sniffer dog, that's where our freedom ended as visitors, it was a weird, scary feeling.

  Posted Tuesday 15 July, 2008 3:25 PM
• Craig Lofts says

  Hi Em.Great job on the bandyup prison story.I have a close friend who was put in there for life back in 2000.Now this girl was 36.Not even a parking ticket in her whole life&bam 1 day she's free the next she's facing 10-20 years inside.She killed another woman,but in saying that there was circumstances that really should have seen her walk.She was provoked.Punched&kicked&if she had not defended herself in the manner she did it could very well have been her life taken.We just never know whats around the corner.It could have been me,Even you Em.Never say never.Oh & by the way YOU ARE A DIRTY BIG SPUNK!!!!& leave your hair short gorgeous.Thanks for making mornings chirpy.

  Posted Sunday 20 July, 2008 7:35 PM
• lisa says

  Hey I read your explanation on why you went through with the haircut and it makes so much sense...as i am in the same situation well completly different but yet in a situation based on confusion torn between the old me and new me after spending 8 months in prison only getting out 3 months ago but yet jumped back into normal life work and kids i spent one month at Bandyup and 7 mths at Boronia i will never forget it for 7 months i cried every day every minute i was a mess until i had one month to go but yet i made a negative to a positive but now i hold a respectable job mother of 2 and yet feel so so lost i have just had my 28th b'day so my Question is where do i find more info about saturn return......

  Posted Wednesday 23 July, 2008 9:07 PM

• First
• Prev
• 1
• 2
• Next
• Last

• Name:
• Email Address:
• URL (optional):
• Remember Me? Yes No
• Your comments:
•  
• Security Code:
•   Submit your comment