Port Phillip Prison
Port Phillip Prison is a maximum security facility for male offenders and is managed and operated by G4S on behalf of Corrections Victoria. It is located on the outskirts of Melbourne Metropolitan area approximately 20kms from Melbourne?s CBD and serviced by a public transport bus service from Laverton station.
The prison accommodates 764 male prisoners; approximately 90% of Port Phillip Prison?s population are serving custodial sentences while the remaining 10% of prisoners are remanded in custody or are in transit to other locations across the state.
Port Phillip Prison is a complex and diverse facility accommodating the following prisoner groups:
- Protection;
- Youth;
- Medical;
- Mainstream;
- Management;
- Intellectually Disabled; and
- Prisoners with psychiatric needs.
Each prisoner group varies greatly and the prison operates in such a way to ensure that the needs of prisoners are met and that good order and safety is maintained at all times. The prison functions in a ?neighbourhood? system of operation and is broken down into three (3) areas.
Each ?neighbourhood? has a Prison Service Manager who is responsible for the day-to-day management and performance of their area. The prison refers to these as PSM areas 1, 2 & 3. Prison Service Manager?s are based within inside the prison and within close proximity to the units of accommodation that fall under their responsibility.
The prison operates both domestic and revenue producing industries from one industry complex and a number of ?satellite? industries dotted across the site. A great number of prisoners are also employed in the accommodation units, hospital, admissions, programs etc.
An education centre within the prison offers courses provided by Kangan BatmanTAFE.Some courses include:
- Literacy and numeracy, Information Technology, Cooking, Horticulture, Art , Ceramics , Textiles, Laundry , Forklift, Occupational Health and Safety , Industrial Cleaning , Koori Education , Koori Art, and Full time education with access to distance education.
Programs aimed at assisting prisoners address their offending behaviour, personal development or release into the community are also offered including:
- Drug and Alcohol Programs provided by Moreland Hall, Anger Management, Relationships, Study Skills, Social skills, Stress Management, Offending Behaviour Pre-Release Program, Home Orientation, Problem Solving, Cognitive Skills, Personal Development, and Community Involvement based programs.
Health services are provided by St Vincent?s Health Service, a major Melbourne public hospital. The Health Service provides tertiary in-patient and secondary in-patient care. The Health Service provides the state-wide acute medical, surgical and psychosocial care to prisoners in Victoria.
The prison has a large variety of both active and passive recreational facilities. Each unit has its own table tennis and pool table as well as a range of board games.
Visits take place daily. On weekdays visits are between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. On Saturday and Sunday visits may take place between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Both personal and professional visits take place in the visits centre which consists of indoor and outdoor tables and chairs and vending machines for refreshments.