North Queensland lawyers reveal what life is like in the Townsville watch-house

Townsville watch-house prisoners are being exposed to the parasitic infection scabies, sleeping on bare floors without bedding and only shower infrequently, according to criminal lawyers.

Prisoners in the watch-house are sleeping on floors due to overcrowding.

Townsville watch-house prisoners are being exposed to the parasitic infection scabies, sleeping on bare floors without bedding and only shower infrequently, according to criminal lawyers.

This masthead spoke to nine criminal lawyers and barristers on Tuesday, after revelations that Townsville watch house was at 178 per cent capacity on Monday.

According to figures provided by the Queensland Police Union, Townsville had 61 people in custody, including six children, but with only 42 beds.

“There is an outbreak of scabies in that watch house as I’ve had clients catch it there, so that is another risk for all who get sent there,” said one well known Townsville lawyer.

“There are three or four sleeping in a cell and maybe elsewhere in the place, which is not designed for this number,” he said.

A leading Townsville barrister said that his clients, who were spending more than a week in the watch house on average, were usually filthy when they were released on bail or transferred.

“They are often just putrid and you know exactly where they have been without asking them,” he said.

Another barrister said he had one client who could only clean his teeth once in eight days.

“So you can imagine what chance he had to get a shower, let alone a mattress to sleep on,” he said.

A female Townsville lawyer said she was concerned about young children in the watch house for days with hardened criminals.

“The average stay is around 10 to 14 days and some of these kids as young as 12 or 13 are shoulder to shoulder with men coming down from alcohol and drug withdrawals,” she said.

“They are often screaming and out of control, it’s a really scary scenario.”

Another female lawyers said the situation was dire but unavoidable.

“All our correctional centres are full as well, so where do they go, and sending them south away from family and us is not ideal either,” she said.

Reports on Monday said accused criminals in police watch houses will be flown from the state’s north to southeast Queensland amid revelations mattresses had been sent in to massively overfilled centres.

The move follows warnings from Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers that a death in custody was ‘waiting to happen’.

Only a small number of people at each watch house was identified as a Queensland Police Service prisoner in custody, meaning a large proportion should be placed in a jail.

“North and Far North Queensland’s lack of watch house capacity is a death in custody waiting to happen,” said Mr Leavers.

Originally published as North Queensland lawyers reveal what life is like in the Townsville watch-house