Report reveals pressure on Darwin jail

The Northern Territory Prison Officers Association says the Martin Government should have foreseen a shortage of jail cells in Darwin.

The annual report from the Justice Department shows that last year there there was a daily average of 397 inmates at Berrimah jail, which has a capacity of 400.

The association's Merg Mikaelian says at times Berrimah held up to 450 prisoners.

He says the Government should have realised that boosting police numbers would increase the pressure on the Darwin facility.

"The plan there was to put more police officers on the ground and that's come through and obviously they're going to do their job which flows on to the court system," he said.

"The court system obviously has to punish these people appropriately and put them in prison and they should have seen something there."

The document also shows the rate of adult imprisonment in the Territory is three-and-a-half times the national average.

The Territory's rate is estimated to be 536 per 100,000 people, compared to the national average of 154 per 100,000.

There continues to be a disproportionate number of Indigenous inmates, who make up 78 per cent of the Territory's prison population.

The Justice Minister, Peter Toyne, has been unavailable for comment.

Newshawk: http://www.napnt.org
Pubdate: Sun, 23 October 2005
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation (Australia Web)
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Copyright: 2005 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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