Hundreds of Victorian prison cells sitting empty amid court backlog
Hundreds of prison cells are sitting empty as Victoria grapples with the fastest growing population of accused criminals waiting to be sentenced.
Victoria
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Hundreds of prison cells are sitting empty because of staff shortages and a backlog in the court system.
With courts unable to hear cases quick enough, prisoner numbers are falling prompting the closure of prison beds.
It comes after the Herald Sun this month revealed the $420m Cherry Creek Youth Justice Centre has sat empty since being built.
The facility was completed in June but taxpayers have continued to cover maintenance and security costs while it has no prisoners.
Prison whistleblowers say critical staff shortages coupled with a crippling backlog of criminal cases is forcing major facilities to limit their capacity.
At Port Phillip Prison, the state’s largest maximum security facility, an entire unit has been closed.
At Hopkins Correctional Centre, in Ararat, prisoners are being denied time out of their cells prompting concern for their mental wellbeing.
Sources say the ongoing fallout from chronic backlogs, caused by Victoria’s world record Covid restrictions, are to blame.
Supreme Court Justice Michael Croucher said this week the Victorian justice system was under immense pressure.
“While the pandemic is having less immediate impact than it once did, and things are improving, the fact remains that the criminal justice system as a whole is still under great strain, and, in some quarters, is still miles behind,” he said.
“This state of affairs is, I fear, likely to persist for some time yet.”
A Department of Justice and Community Safety spokesperson attributed the closed prison beds to a decline in prisoner numbers.
“The number of prisoners in Victoria is decreasing, with the state recording the second lowest prisoner population rate per 100,000 adults and the average number of prisoners decreasing by 5.2 per cent,” she said.
“Accordingly, this sees a reduction in the number of beds that need to be active.
“The safety and wellbeing of our staff and prisoners is our highest priority.”
But legal sources insisted prisoner numbers had only declined because of the massive backlog in the court system.
While the County Court and Supreme Court have almost returned to pre-Covid caseloads, in the Magistrates Court there are 20,000 more cases.
Australian Bureau of Statistics data also shows Victoria has the fastest growing population of unsentenced people in Australia.
Opposition corrections spokesman Brad Battin blamed a lack of staff on the prison closures.
“The Labor Government didn’t want to talk about crime in the lead up to the 2022 state election, the consequences now are a lack of staff,” he said.
“The impact is staff at risk, and less courses – this will reduce community safety.
“When a lack of staff is impacting the health of prisoners and failing to protect their basic human rights, we need reform.
“A prison that is understaffed and failing to support prisoners in the path to becoming work ready increases the chances of them reoffending, An outcome that only has a negative impact for everyone.”
The reduced out of cell hours at Hopkins Correctional Centre could lead to a spike in applications for sentence reductions.
In a letter to prison authorities last month, inmates have put authorities on notice, raising concerns about their mental wellbeing.
They said medication was now not being administered properly and they had fewer opportunities to make telephone calls or socialise with other inmates.
“Undoubtedly, a reduction in out of cell hours is universally considered to signify a deterioration in prisoner conditions,” they wrote.
“Conditions that enhance the positive element and reduce the rehabilitation elements to imprisonment.
“Although we do not suggest this point carries formal legal merit, many prisoners feel the changes translate to more severe, less rehabilitative sentences. The impacts of which may ultimately extend beyond the prison community, into the general community.”
Prisoners could apply for emergency management days for suffering “disruption or deprivation” in jail, leading to reductions in their sentences.
These discounts are usually granted when they are confined to their cells during industrial disputes and other emergencies.
Victoria is the only state which hands out “emergency management days” to compensate prisoners for disruptions where they are confined to their cells.
Serious violent offenders including murderers and rapists are all eligible for the sentence discount.
In the 2021-22 financial year, 6,649 prisoners had 202,102 days wiped from their sentences _ or the equivalent of a combined 553 years _ because of the pandemic.
On average prisoners had 30 days shaved off their sentence _ almost double the average in August 2020.
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Originally published as Hundreds of Victorian prison cells sitting empty amid court backlog
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