Innovation in meeting the needs of indigenous inmates in Australia

Abstract

The Kimberley Region comprises over 262,000 square miles in the north of Western Australia, located more than 1,245 miles from the Western Australia’s capital, Perth. Until late 2012, the area was serviced by just one prison, Broome Regional Prison, the oldest operating prison in Western Australia. Predominantly a minimum security male and female facility, the Broome Regional Prison also houses short term medium and maximum security inmates with Aboriginal people representing approximately 95% of the inmate population. A number of inspections found Broome Prison to be far below acceptable Australian standards.

Given the issues with the existing prison and the high proportion of Aboriginal inmates, the Western Australian Government decided to construct a new highly innovative prison in the Kimberley region. The $122 million prison which opened late in 2012 is located on a 25 hectare green-field site outside the town of Derby (136 miles from Broome). The West Kimberley Regional Prison aims to meet the cultural and environmental needs of its 150 Indigenous inmates and reduce re-offending. It was designed under a community consultation model which recognised Indigenous inmates’ cultural, kinship, family and community responsibilities and spiritual connections to land. This highly innovative project was designed by TAG Architects in association with Iredale Pedersen Hook Architects, constructed by Cooper and Oxley Builders and project managed by the Western Australian Department of Finance. This article will discuss the importance of meeting the cultural needs of this vulnerable sub-group and the features of this highly innovative project in remote Australia.