‘Prisoner daycare’: Cops pulled from frontline to babysit crims

Frustrated police say they’re being diverted from normal duties to man understaffed Queensland watch houses where some inmates are being held for weeks at a time.

Police are being pulled from frontline duties to man watch houses.

Frontline cops including highway patrol officers are being taken off the beat to help man understaffed watch houses in what officers have slammed as “prisoner daycare”.

Frustrated police say they’re being diverted from normal duties to staff watch houses where some inmates are being held for weeks at a time.

It follows reports of overcrowded holding cells across the state, packed with prisoners including dozens of juveniles.

Police sources told The Courier-Mail that Gold Coast highway patrol officers were repeatedly being taken off the road to help man the busy Southport watch house.

“It’s been happening regularly for months, with officers routinely rostered to fill two shifts every few days in the watch house,” a source said.

“It’s a terrible use of experienced and dedicated police resources, especially at a time when we’re trying to bring down the road toll which was the highest in years last year.”

Queensland Police Union president Shane Prior blamed Queensland Corrections for the situation.

Queensland police are being pulled from critical postings.

“Police continue to arrest significant numbers of offenders and place them before the courts however there remains an issue with Queensland Corrections not accepting responsibility and leaving them for extended periods in police watch houses,” he said.

“Without enough specialist watch house officers being recruited and employed, police management on the Gold Coast and across Queensland have directed frontline police from a variety of units to instead complete shifts in watch houses. This is done for the safety of those officers working in watch houses and the offenders in police care.

“First-response police should be in the community answering calls for help and preventing road trauma. Watch houses are not prisoner daycare.

“The acting Police Commissioner (Shane Chelepy) should be speaking directly with the boss of Corrections demanding his staff meet their obligations and care for their prisoners.”

A Queensland Corrective Services spokeswoman said the department was doing “everything possible” to clear watch-houses.

“QCS works closely with the Queensland Police Service to co-ordinate the transfer of eligible adult prisoners from watch houses to prisons, and we are doing everything possible to expedite these transfers,” she said.

“Only adult prisoners who have been sentenced or remanded in custody, or with a return to prison warrant, are eligible for transfer to a QCS correctional centre.

“Where watch houses are experiencing high prisoner numbers, QCS makes every effort to facilitate higher numbers of receptions.

“Legislation provides that QCS receives prisoners within 21 days, however the vast majority of eligible prisoners are received within seven days.”

A Gold Coast police spokesman confirmed that officers were being diverted to watch house duty but insisted the practice was not impacting frontline service.

“The QPS continually reviews staffing deployments to ensure the highest levels of service delivery and community safety are maintained,” he said.

Queensland Police Union President Shane Prior. Picture: Liam Kidston

“As part of this approach, operational flexibility is occasionally required to support priority areas, including watch house functions. This may include officers from various units, including Highway Patrol, being temporarily redeployed to assist as needed.

“Thes decisions are made based on operational requirements and do not impact frontline service delivery or our commitment to road safety across the Gold Coast.”

Official police watch house data reveals that 466 prisoners, including 19 children, were being held in the state’s 33 police watch houses on Wednesday night.

In the Brisbane watch house, 68 prisoners had been held for up to 15 days, with five detained for more than a week and 35 for three to seven days.

There were 51 prisoners in the Southport watch house, some of whom had also been held for up to 15 days, while at least one prisoner in the Cairns watch house was in custody for 13 days.

Prisoners in the Mackay and Townsville watch houses were also spending up to 12 days behind bars awaiting either transfer to prison or their next court date.