VPRS 11927 Female Prisoner Classification Files

Originally these files were created by the Prisoner Classification Committee, based at Pentridge, to record details of each prisoner's background. This information was then used by the Classification Committee to determine at which type of institution the prisoner was to be confined and what level of security would be required. From the 1970s onwards the files were also used to record the subsequent management of a prisoner which may include reclassification.Originally classification of prisoners in Victoria was based on the sex of the offender, their age and type of crime committed. In 1950 the Inspector-General of Penal Establishments spent six months in Europe and the United States studying modern prison techniques. His report, published in October 1951, recommended sweeping changes to the Victorian prison system.One of the recommendations in the report involved the classification of prisoners. From around 1956 greater emphasis was placed on prisoner training; particularly programs designed to raise the educational levels of prisoners. The particular focus group was prisoners with very low literacy and numeracy skills. Several prisons were equipped with primary level schools and prisoners were sent to whichever prison the Classification Committee thought could benefit them educationally. Proximity of family members was also considered.The files contain a classification sheet detailing the prisoner's personal history including information regarding birthplace, education, work history, religion, intelligence level and immediate family.The classification sheet also contains the Classification Committee's decision on the prisoner providing such information as security level required (maximum, medium or minimum), employment during sentence, training while in prison and the institution (prison) to which the prisoner was to be sent.The files may also contain information regarding the prisoner's prior convictions, progress reports on behaviour during incarceration and special reports (such as reports detailing the prisoner's reaction to transfers between divisions of a prison or to another prison). These may have been used in circumstances when a prisoner was undergoing reclassification. Files may contain reports written by the Classification Officer and reviews of the prisoner's classification. Sometimes a record of the prisoner's training while in prison is included.Some files may also contain photographs of the prisoner and/or newspaper reports concerning the prisoner's "crime".A small portion of the files relates to individuals who were held in prison pending deportation. These files are denoted with the word Deportee on the cover.