NT Corrections breaks record for prison population, police watch houses used for overflow

One per cent of the Territory’s entire population was behind bars this week. See the extraordinary steps being taken to manage corrections numbers.

The NT’s prison population surged to an all-time record high, with one per cent of the entire Territory population behind bars on Friday.

The Corrections department confirmed 2063 people were locked up on Friday, exceeding the former prison population record of 2061 — which was set only a month earlier.

There were 1287 people held in Darwin, 239 more people than the Holtze centre was designed to hold.

There were 663 people locked up in Alice Springs, with a prison population 40 per cent higher than what the facilities were designed to hold.

Corrections later confirmed an additional three people were locked up by the afternoon, surpassing the previous record.

According to the latest population data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, that meant that almost one in 100 Territorians were prisoners on Friday.

A Corrections spokeswoman said there was no end in sight to the pressures on the prison system.

“Prisoner numbers had been rising steadily throughout 2022 and the first quarter of 2023,” she said.

“The pressure on the system is expected to continue for the foreseeable future.”

Corrections confirmed that to address the surge in numbers, NT Police watch houses are being used to fit the prison overflow, while a number of “short term” measures were being rolled out across Darwin and Alice Springs.

Corrections said areas of the centres were being repurposed, while prisoners were also being forced to sleep on the floor on mattresses.

It is understood some prison cells designed for two people are currently holding up to three prisoners.

Alice Springs correctional officers have been raising concerns about potentially unsafe conditions due to high prisoner numbers. Picture: Lee Robinson

Corrections have confirmed more than 50 people are being held in police watch houses.

A spokeswoman said 29 people were being held at the Darwin city watch house, five people were in Palmerston, and 13 people were at the Alice Springs station.

Another six people had been moved to external rehabilitation services undergoing treatment programs.

She confirmed the Darwin city watch house had been established as an “interim accommodation facility”.

“Carefully selected and screened prisoners from the Darwin Correctional Centre are being transferred to the Darwin Watch House facility in anticipation of their pending release dates,” she said.

“Thus creating additional capacity at the main correctional centre to receive new prisoners remanded into custody by the courts.”

NT Police Deputy Commissioner Michael Murphy after Chief Minister Natasha Fyles announced an immediate review of bail laws and police powers across the Territory. Picture: Annabel Bowles

Deputy Commissioner Michael Murphy said police and prisons were having a daily conversation around prisoner management and transfers.

Mr Murphy said while sentenced prisoners awaiting release were being held in the Darwin city station, remand prisoners — those denied bail — were being kept at Alice Springs and Palmerston.

Mr Murphy said Corrections maintained responsibility for the prisoners at the Darwin station, with “no police officers are guarding prisoners“.

Police did not confirm how long the Territorians were being kept in the Darwin station while waiting for release.

There were 1287 people held by Corrections in Darwin, 239 more people than the Holtze centre was designed to hold. Picture: Che Chorley

“(They) are prisoners who are near the end of sentence and will be released in the near future,” Mr Murphy said.

Mr Murphy said police were “assisting” Corrections staff with the management of the remand prisoners.

“There are existing policies and protocols in place between agencies and in these facilities to ensure the safety of both prisoners and staff for prisoner management and transfer; and during times of co-use of police watch houses,” he said.

The record breaking prison numbers come as the NT Government flag a review of the presumption of bail for weapons offences, which if approved would result in more remand prisoners locked up.

Unions representing police and corrections workers have previously raised concerns about the use of watch houses by Corrections, as well as staffing and safety inside the prisons.

The Corrections spokeswoman said recruitment activities would continue as a priority, with staffing rosters including the latest cohort of correctional officer trainees.

It is understood staffing ratios are complex and there are no mandated minimums.

However, assuming every correctional worker was on shift, there were about four prisoners to every correctional worker in Alice Springs on Friday — with 168 custodial staff on the roster.

In Holtze there were around three prisoners to every custodial worker, with 403 staff.

Originally published as NT Corrections breaks record for prison population, police watch houses used for overflow