Facility established for radicalised females at a Western Sydney prison

Females who have been radicalised or convicted of national security crimes and who are deemed a risk to other inmates will now be housed in a facility specifically created for such offences.

A section for radicalised women has been created inside Dillwynia Correctional Centre in Windsor. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

A prison facility for radicalised women deemed a security risk or those convicted of ­national security offences has been created within a Western Sydney prison.

The facility has been created within Dillwynia Correctional Centre at Windsor – an existing maximum security facility for female offenders.

The area that has been set aside for convicted female terrorists was previously used for female prisoners requiring special protection and so already has the appropriate infrastructure for higher-risk inmates.

In converting the area to a terrorist facility, Corrective Services NSW officials have created special “hatches” on the prison doors to enable officers to handcuff inmates before entering their cells.

Extra CCTV cameras have also been installed in the common area of the facility.

The upgrade follows high-level talks between prison authorities and officers on where to house radical female inmates should the need one day arise.

The creation of the facility came at the same time as the federal Government repatriated 17 family members of ISIS fighters last October.

However, a prison source said while the repatriations may have prompted such a ­facility, there was no suggestion it would ever be used.

The creation of the special facility at Dillwynia came at the same time as the federal government repatriated 17 family members last October. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

“It’s more that we didn’t have such an area should one be required,” the source said.

“It may never be used.”

Men convicted of terror ­offences are sent to Supermax before entering lower security facilities such as “Supermax 2.0” and potentially the prison mainstream if they become deradicalised. The four women and their 13 children were the first stage of a highly sensitive operation, which will repatriate 60 women and children from refugee camps in Syria.

One of the women – a wife of an Islamic State fighter – was subsequently arrested and charged by the Australian Federal Police.

The arrest of 31-year-old Mariam Raad followed an extensive investigation carried out by NSW Police and the AFP alongside several intelligence agencies.

Dillwynia Correctional Centre is at Windsor. Picture: NCA NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Ms Raad was charged with knowingly entering IS territory in 2014 to join the father of her four children, senior IS fighter Muhammad Zahab.

Ms Raad fronted Young Local Court on March 15 where her case was adjourned to give prosecutors more time to compile “outstanding” evidence including financial records and messages sent by mobile devices while she was in Syria.

Ms Raad has been living in the regional NSW town since she was brought back to Australia from northeastern Syria.

She was living in the Al Roj camp, near the Iraqi border, along with three other women and 13 children whose relatives are IS members who are missing or dead.

A Corrective Services NSW spokeswoman confirmed a “secure area” had been identified for high-risk female offenders that needed to be separated from the mainstream.

“The secure area will only become operational if a female offender entering custody cannot be housed within existing facilities,” she said.