Cheerful grins in old scrapbook photo albums show a happy facade, masking the hardships Julie Taylor endured while raising a family on her own.
At just 14-years-old, she met the boy she'd end up falling in – and out – of love with.
"He was hectic most of his life from the time that I first met him," Julie said.
That boy was Geoffrey Taylor – known as a menace, angry about life, and resentful of authority. At 16-years-old he was chucked out of home.
Just a year later, he served his first sentence for driving without a licence.
From that point on, if he wasn't hanging out with bikies behind prison walls, he was committing a crime that would land him back there soon enough.
His record ballooned to 88 different criminal convictions over three-and-a half decades, with offences ranging from reckless driving to armed robbery.
A reason for his crimes
"I regret the fact that I created innocent victims. But, I don't regret … who I am today," Geoffrey said.
Geoffrey was diagnosed with foetal alcohol spectrum disorder (FASD) in February 2022, at 54-years-old.
The diagnosis was an inflection point in the ex-convict's life as he began to understand why he acted the way he did.
"There was a reason why I was like that. It was the reason why I was making those poor choices in the course of my life."
FASD is a neurodisability caused by prenatal alcohol exposure, and can affect emotional regulation, cognition, and an ability to understand consequences.
Bringing childlike antics into adulthood
"What happens when you get a condition like myself? You bring your childlike antics into adulthood, and I've done exactly that. I've brought cops and robbers from childhood into adulthood."
Things changed drastically after his diagnosis prompted him to seek better support, and learn methods for managing his behaviour.
"I've been fully employed for the last 12 months. Been elected by my working group as a safety representative there. I've also come leaps and bounds in my own home."
Geoffrey makes no excuses for the hurt he's caused throughout his life.
However, both he and his family wonder why he wasn't diagnosed earlier, and hope more can be done for today's at-risk youth.
"What's happened in the past doesn't sad [sic] me, but what saddens me is the fact that we can change what's happening with those young people around us today," Geoffrey said.
"The ones at Banksia [Hill Detention Centre], they've got nothing. They're going to turn into an adult criminal like I am, or was."
Disability screening under question
A Department of Justice spokesperson said all prisoners, including youth detainees, undergo "comprehensive health assessments" when they're admitted.
“If these assessments identify a potential disability not previously diagnosed, prisoners and detainees can be referred for evaluation to external health service providers,” they said.
Department records show 21 per cent of youth detainees and 1 per cent of adult prisoners in WA have been diagnosed with FASD as of February 14, 2023.
However, past reports from the Inspector of Custodial Services have highlighted inadequate processes for identifying disability and cognitive impairments in custody.
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Under questioning at the Disability Royal Commission in 2022, WA Corrective Services Commissioner Mike Reynolds said a screening tool had been implemented to address the issues.
The department was unable to provide figures on the number of prisoners who have undergone screening or diagnosis for disability, but were able to provide figures for those that have been screened for "functional impairment".
The Department of Justice said most youth detainees were on remand and hadn't been sentenced, and were therefore less likely to undergo screening due to the short duration of their time in custody.
On February 14, only a third of all youth detainees — or 30 people — had been screened, however there were only 36 sentenced detainees.
The department's spokesperson said the screening tool only provided "an indication of an individual's capacity, at a particular point in time, to engage in daily living experiences".
"The recording of prisoners' or detainees' disabilities on department systems are not a direct result of this screening tool."
Breaking the cycle
The Taylors are an example of how violence and offending can perpetuate through generations, with their eldest son serving a sentence at Hakea Prison.
Geoffrey's life of crime paved the way for his eldest son to follow suit. Both his and Julie's biggest wish now is to break the cycle of violence and offending.
"To come out and get back to his employment, to get back to the person who he used to be," Julie said.
She noticed a significant change in Geoffrey's attitude and behaviour after his FASD diagnosis, and is hopeful he can continue improving.
"Just to keep leading by example. He works now, which is good ... he can have his good days, but then we can also have bad days," Julie said.
Geoffrey attributes much of his progress to support from his caseworker and counsellors at the Wungening Aboriginal Corporation.
He's learned methods to manage his behaviour and substance abuse, and begin piecing his life together.
Wungening program manager Kim Griggs was Geoffrey's first caseworker after he finished his last stint in prison.
"When Geoff had finally come to understand his diagnosis ... there was something tangible that he could understand about his, about his life experience," he said.
Mr Griggs said Geoffrey developed a fear response from the extensive time he spent in prison, which made it difficult for him to reintegrate into the community.
"It's a survival technique employed by people who find themselves in that type of environment," he said.
"He was someone who was very untrusting of the public."
Wungening Aboriginal Corporation counsellor Leslee Skuse, who runs drug and alcohol support sessions, said therapeutic models of care go a long way to improving the success of rehabilitation.
"We're a very non-judgemental service. Anybody can come and walk through our doors, and we will do our best to support them," she said.
"If we can't provide that support then we will look where they can go, provide a referral. We walk beside them to make sure that happens."
New 'service model' in the works
Turmoil continues within Western Australia's justice system, with an ongoing class action against the state's only juvenile prison facility, the Banksia Hill Detention Centre.
An internal review commissioned by the WA Government, and completed by the Nous Group, has recommended an overhaul of Banksia Hill.
A "new operating philosophy" and "service model" are currently being worked on, according to a Department of Justice spokesperson.
"These are based on national and international best practice and trauma-informed principles for managing young people across the justice system.
"The ongoing upgrading of infrastructure at Banksia Hill will support the service model as well as ensure a safe and stable environment."
