HM Prison Barwon

Barwon Prison
Location Lara, Victoria
Coordinates 37°59′5″S 144°21′9″E / 37.98472°S 144.35250°ECoordinates: 37°59′5″S 144°21′9″E / 37.98472°S 144.35250°E
Status Operational
Security class Maximum to Supermax
Capacity 428
Opened January, 1990
Managed by Corrections Victoria

HM Prison Barwon or informally Barwon Prison, an Australian high risk and maximum security prison for males, is located 6 kilometres (3.7 mi) from the township of Lara, near Geelong, Victoria, Australia. The facility is operated by Corrections Victoria, part of the Department of Justice of the Government of Victoria. The prison provides accommodation and services for remand and sentenced felons detained under Victorian and/or Commonwealth legislation.

Barwon Prison is located adjacent to the 300–bed medium security Marngoneet Correctional Centre, opened in 2006.

History

Barwon was built to cater for demand due to the recent closures of HM Prison Geelong in 1991 and HM Prison Pentridge in 1997.

Construction of the prison commenced in 1986. It was completed in October 1989 and the first prisoners were received in January 1990. Barwon is the only Victorian maximum security prison located outside the Melbourne metropolitan area.

Accommodation units

Barwon provides accommodation and services for maximum security mainstream prisoners including a 20-bed facility for high security prisoners and a 60-bed facility for maximum security protection prisoners. A campus of the Gordon Institute of TAFE operates at the prison providing a corrections education program.

The prison is split into many separate units including:

Controversy

A 2012 art exhibition called The Barwon Interviews, comprising video footage of twelve inmates, was part of a Monash University PhD project that was focused on examining prisoners adjusting to life inside Barwon Prison, their family struggles, and guilty consciences.[1]

In February 2012, visiting Barwon Prison to speak to indigenous inmates as part of a mentoring program, former AFL player Wayne Carey was found to have traces of cocaine on his clothing following a routine drug scan. Carey was informed that he could enter the prison if he submitted to a strip search. He declined and left the correctional facility.[2]

Notable prisoners

References

  1. Hore, Monique (20 April 2012). "Prisoners tell of life on the inside in The Barwon Interviews". Herald Sun. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  2. Dowsley, Anthony (2 February 2012). "Wayne Carey ‘shatttered' by relevation [sic] of jail drug bust". Herald Sun. Retrieved 18 May 2012.
  3. "Stop pandering to 'sicko', says Doyle". The Age (Australia). AAP. 28 June 2004. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  4. Petrie, Andrea (2 September 2005). "Dupas interviewed over cemetery stabbing". The Age (Australia). Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  5. Knight v CORE, 731 VCAT (Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal 12 July 2002).
  6. "PhD prisoner won't leave maximum security". The Age (Australia). AAP. 8 November 2004. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  7. Butcher, Steve (20 April 2011). "Kingpin does one last deal for hope of freedom". The Age (Australia). Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  8. Anderson, Paul (28 April 2007). "Wales-King blot hard to erase". Herald Sun. Retrieved 8 May 2012.
  9. Millar, Paul (20 April 2010). "Carl Williams murder accused appears in court". The Age (Australia). Retrieved 8 May 2012.

External links