Lockdowns occurring 'all of the time' at every NT prison, corrections boss tells budget estimates
The Northern Territory corrections commissioner says lockdowns are occurring "all of the time" at every NT prison, as inmate numbers continue to soar.
More than 1 per cent of the Northern Territory's population is incarcerated, with Department of Corrections (DOC) figures showing 2,834 people were behind bars as of Thursday.
Half of the people in jail are on remand, with the total prison population rising by 600 since the Country Liberal Party (CLP) was elected last August.
Due to the rising prisoner numbers and staff shortages, lockdowns have been frequently implemented by the DOC.
Responding to a question at budget estimates in NT parliament on Thursday, Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley said he could not provide a specific figure on the number of lockdowns at adult prisons since September.
Instead, he said there were "lockdowns across all of the facilities all of the time".
"[The number of lockdowns has] been substantial in the last number of months because of the rate of prisoner growth and the stretch that we have experienced," Commissioner Varley said.
Commissioner Varley said it was difficult for the DOC to provide specific lockdown data, because they occurred "in a range of scenarios".
"From a cell or block or wing being locked down, to entire facilities," he said.
"It is relatively rare for a lockdown of an entire facility to occur because of the nature of staff shortages.
"What is more likely to occur is that the entire facility is locked down for short periods of time, depending on operational events.
"But [it is] more likely that various parts of the prison, various wings and cells are locked down … what we call rolling unlocks, which are staged locks and unlocks throughout the day."
During the budget estimates session, the DOC did provide data on lockdowns in youth detention facilities.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Sasha Dennis said there were 25 "rotational lockdowns" between July 2024 and the end of March this year.
"They are due to operational requirements, such as low staffing or high levels of escorts, including court, medical, and leave of absences — requiring transport of young people outside of the facility," she said.
There were 55 youths in detention on Thursday, according to the DOC.
The territory's three adult jails and two work camps cannot accommodate the entire prison population.
Prisoners who cannot fit into those facilities are being held in police watch houses, where DOC staff have not been present since March.
During budget estimates, Corrections Minister Gerard Maley said there were 70 prisoners in police watch houses as of Thursday.
Of the 70 prisoners, 51 were being held at Palmerston watch house, 10 at Katherine watch house and nine at the watch house in Alice Springs.
Mr Maley said 20 prisoners at the Palmerston watch house had been held there for more than a week, with one prisoner's stint stretching to 14 days as of Thursday.
While in a watch house, prisoners do not leave their cell and lights remain on 24 hours a day, Mr Maley confirmed.
In February, the NT government passed legislation allowing it to hire private and interstate guards to work in the corrections system.
The government subsequently contracted private security firm G4S to manage prisoner transfers in Darwin, in a bid to boost the overall workforce and reduce overtime payments.
During budget estimates, Commissioner Varley said the overtime bill "for custodial operations" between July 2024 and the end of March this year reached $19.23 million, for 266,000 extra hours worked.
"That's an average of 355 hours per prisoner," he said.
"By the time we get to June 30, we'll probably end up with an overtime bill similar to what we did last year."
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