A new purpose-built, state-of-the-art gatehouse at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre has been officially opened by Minister for Corrections, Ben Carroll.
The Minister said the new gatehouse was significantly larger than the original, which had been in use since the prison opened in 1996.
“It features stronger security including a new body scanner and biometric registration, vehicle detection technology, new office spaces and a dedicated locksmith office,” Mr Carroll said.
“The security measures and technology in the gatehouse form part of changes to the way prisoners and visitors are searched at the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre,” he said.
Mr Carroll said Corrections Victoria had trailed the new body scanning technology at the prison, which had led to a reduction in strip searches, a process he said could re-traumatise women who had been victims of violence.
He said the introduction of the new scanning technology and saliva testing in the past 18 months had reduced search numbers by 20,000.
“There are significant measures and investments rolling out across the women’s prison system aimed at better supporting our staff, keeping the community safe and improving outcomes for prisoners.”
“The new, purpose-built gatehouse is part of that – providing staff and visitors with a new entrance to the prison that has advanced processing and less intrusive security features,” Mr Carroll said.
