Victoria Police union demands new jails
THE head of Victoria’s police union has called for more prisons to be built as an overcrowded police cells crisis escalates across the state.
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THE head of Victoria’s police union has called for more prisons to be built to deal with overcrowded police cells.
In recent weeks police cells at stations such as Narre Warren, Swan Hill and Warrnambool have been filled to breaking point.
Police officers have reported that in some cases prisoners were being detained in holding rooms and on other occasions were sleeping on mattresses on the floor.
During the night of August 7 and 8, the cells at Dandenong, Frankston and Moorabbin police stations became full, which led to Narre Warren — not usually used to hold prisoners overnight — being used.
The police union has also claimed there were insufficient sergeants in many locations to ensure police cells were appropriately supervised.
Police Association Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt said: “We recognise that the government has a plan to have more beds come online in coming weeks, however, what we are seeing is not a blip on the radar.
“It will require additional remand facilities to be constructed so that sentenced and remanded prisoners are removed from police stations once and for all.”
Earlier this month the police union met senior officials from the Department of Justice and Regulation.
The union was told the problem was being addressed, and there was a plan to deliver 372 beds for male prisoners and 46 beds for female prisoners before the end of the year.
Last month it was reported there were fears police would be forced to grant bail to accused criminals because they have nowhere to keep them.
Police said they were regularly required to transport offenders from Melbourne as far as Wangaratta to find them a cell.
Opposition police and corrections spokesman Edward O’Donohue said: “Victoria currently doesn’t have enough police so it’s madness that our already scarce police resources are being diverted to babysitting prisoners in police cells, rather than catching violent offenders.”
Corrections Minister Gayle Tierney said: “Our record investment in thousands of extra police, and tougher bail and sentencing laws means more people are in prison — and we make no apologies for that.”