Rehabilitation prisoners ring in new year with a fresh start

  • Eight women graduate from the Wandoo Rehabilitation Program
  • 149 women have now completed the program since its inception
  • Wandoo Rehabilitation Prison has remained drug-free
  • Eight women prisoners celebrated the new year with a new beginning when they graduated from Wandoo prison’s rehabilitation program today.

    The women join 141 other women who have completed the program at the State’s ground-breaking alcohol and other drug treatment prison.

    Wandoo’s dedicated therapeutic environment helps women prisoners to break the cycle of substance abuse in an effort to reduce addiction-driven offending.

    Women who have completed the program are linked with specialist service providers to continue their rehabilitative recovery when they are released into the community.

    Known as one of the ‘most searched’ custodial facilities in the State, Wandoo boasts an impressive record of zero discoveries of alcohol or other drugs found and no positive drug tests returned.

    To date, only one woman who had completed the program has been sentenced to return to prison and is back in the program making the rate of return-to-prison, so far, less than one per cent. That is the lowest in the nation.

    The program was introduced in 2018 when Wandoo Prison was returned to public sector management as part of the McGowan Government’s comprehensive Methamphetamine Action Plan.

    At a glance:

    • 809 women have applied to the program since July 2018
    • 253 have been admitted
    • 149 women have graduated
    • 53 currently completing the course
    • 46 did not finish either because of early release or dropped out
    • 18 parole cancelled
    • 14 parole suspended
    • 11 reoffended, 10 of whom were fined and one returned to prison.

    As stated by Corrective Services Minister Francis Logan:

    “I am extremely pleased by the achievements of Wandoo Rehabilitation Prison in just under two and a half years.

    “Many of the women who have completed the program have been able to successfully adhere to their parole conditions on release and have had no further contact with the justice system.

    “Targeting addiction and breaking the cycle of crime makes our community safer and helps turn offenders’ lives around.

    “We now have nearly 150 women who have taken major steps in breaking their drug addictions and working to become productive members of society.

    “Our investment into co-ordinated services and programs that treat the underlying cause of offending is not only more effective, but benefits the wider community by reducing drug-related crimes.

    “This ground-breaking facility continues to celebrate successes and I am sure it will continue to achieve such remarkable results in 2021.”

    /Public Release. View in full here.