Criminal released by bumbling Melbourne corrections staff due to paperwork bungle
A SERIOUS criminal on remand on armed robbery charges has been let out on the streets by bumbling corrections staff because of a paperwork bungle.
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A SERIOUS criminal on remand on armed robbery charges was let out on the streets by bumbling corrections staff because of a paperwork bungle.
But in a stroke of luck for Victorians and beleaguered prison authorities, the man — who has racked up a string of previous convictions, including for attempted armed robbery — surrendered after enjoying just one night of freedom.
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Sources said the man’s mother played a role in contacting authorities last week to check if he should be behind bars, and police in Broadmeadows rearrested him.
Acting Corrections Minister Jenny Mikakos said she’d ordered an inquiry into what police and corrections sources said was an “unlawful release”.
The Herald Sun has learned privately contracted security transport staff took the man to the new maximum-security Metropolitan Remand Centre at Ravenhall.
It is understood he was freed after a standoff over whether he was supposed to be there.
Sources say the error might have occurred because the prisoner, though on remand on serious charges, had been bailed on other minor charges.
The Opposition said the debacle was symptomatic of a system in crisis. Corrections spokesman, Edward O’Donohue, said the government was presiding over a shambolic system.
“Victorians can’t afford another four more years of this sort of weak shambolic management of law and order by (Premier) Daniel Andrews.
“It’s no wonder violent criminals and youth gangs are willing Daniel Andrews to win the next election,” he said.
Ms Mikakos said the bungle involving the prisoner, who cannot be identified, was “completely unacceptable”.
“I have demanded that Corrections Victoria conduct a full investigation into how this could have occurred and how to prevent this from happening again,” she said.
According to sources, several unlawful releases have occurred over the past five years.
In 2016, the Herald Sun revealed that a prisoner facing fraud charges, who had told authorities he should be locked up, was able to walk free. Rather than go on the run he visited his lawyer, then surrendered.
Tougher parole laws have contributed to a surge in inmate numbers in recent years, increasing pressure on jails and the courts. On any day almost 7000 prisoners are in custody, according to recent Department of Justice figures.