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SBS Australia
6 days ago
- Politics
- SBS Australia
'Officially out of control': NT Police union warns of serious risk in overcrowded police watch house
Advocates believes a death in custody is imminent under the current conditions inside Northern Territory watch houses. Amongst other instances of overcrowding, Palmerston police watch house is currently being used to house an overflow of more than 70 correctional prisoners. NT Coordinator for the Justice Reform Initiative, Rocket Bretherton, says she fears for those currently caught up in the territory's justice system. "There is no privacy, no showers ... 10 to 15 people in a cell, sharing mattresses on the floor," the Noongar woman told NITV. "I've heard stories of [people] not being able to get life saving medication. "It's only a matter of time." Rocket Bretherton has deep subject matter expertise as a consequence of her own experience in the NT justice system and has been working since 2019 to raise public awareness of the failings of the justice system. Source: Emma Kellaway For years Ms Bretherton has campaigned and advocated for justice reform in the Northern Territory. Recounting stories of people recently released from the Palmerston Police Watch House, 20 kilometers southeast of Darwin, Ms Bretherton said the conditions were "disgusting". "Men can see straight over to the women. There is no privacy." "I've been told [there is] period-stained sheets just wrapped up in the corner. "That's disgusting, we need to be doing better." Police union calls out 'crisis point' It comes as the Northern Territory Police Association (NTPA) President, Nathan Finn, said the situation is putting police officers, prisoners, and the broader community at unacceptable risk. 'This is officially out of control," Mr Finn said in a statement. "The CLP Government has made repeated promises to stop using police facilities for correctional purposes, yet the Palmerston Watch House is now overflowing." 'It's not a matter of if, but when a serious custody incident occurs.' Mr Finn said the Palmerston Police Watch House has reached a "crisis point", with 92 detainees recorded in custody on Monday, including 76 correctional prisoners. The NTPA is calling on the NT Government to urgently invest in appropriate correctional infrastructure and stop relying on police watch houses as overflow prisons. 'If immediate action isn't taken, we're gravely concerned that someone - be it a police officer, a prisoner, or a member of the public, is going to be seriously injured or worse,' Mr Finn said. Since coming to power in August last year, the NT Country Liberal Party Government has enacted a string of "tough-on-crime" policies, including the tightening of bail laws. On Wednesday there were a total 2842 people incarcerated across the Northern Territory, an increase of more than 600 prisoners since the CLP came to power. That includes a record number of inmates not yet convicted, with 49 per cent of those on remand awaiting sentencing. 88 per cent of those incarcerated in the NT are Indigenous. 'No alternative' in Government response In a statement Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Corrections, Gerard Maley, told NITV there is "no alternative" and the solution to overcrowding is for "individuals to stop breaking the law". "Police will continue arresting those who break the law, and corrections will continue expanding capacity to ensure those who are remanded or sentenced have a bed." The NT Government have created more than 500 new beds at Darwin and Alice Springs corrections facilities since taking office, with a further 238 beds expected to be added by August. "Whilst government can strengthen laws, adequately resource police and expand corrections capacity this needs to be matched with personal responsibility: individuals need to stop breaking the law," Mr Maley said in a statement. Rocket Bretherton urged the NT Government to "do better". "If we want people to stop the offending behaviour, we need to look at the root causes of the behaviour," Ms Bretherton said. "If we don't do that then there will be no change."
ABC News
15-07-2025
- ABC News
NT police union raises alarm over death in custody risk in watch houses
The Northern Territory's police union is warning a death or serious incident in custody is only a matter of time under dangerous conditions inside police watch houses. Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander readers are advised that this article contains the name and image of an Indigenous person who has died, used with the permission of their family. Their caution comes amid national attention on Aboriginal deaths in custody, after the NT coroner last week delivered her inquest findings into the 2019 police shooting of Kumanjayi Walker in Yuendumu. It also follows the recent deaths in custody of Warlpiri man Kumanjayi White in Alice Springs and a senior Kardu Rak Kirnmu elder at Royal Darwin Hospital. In a statement, the NT Police Association (NTPA) said 92 detainees were kept in the Palmerston police watch house on Monday, including 76 overflow corrections prisoners. "This is officially out of control," NTPA president Nathan Finn said in a statement. The growing pressure on police comes just four months after the NT government promised to stop housing corrections prisoners at watch houses in Palmerston and Alice Springs. Corrections Minister Gerard Maley told parliament on March 18 that all prisoners had been moved out of the watch houses and into prisons in Holtze and Berrimah. Mr Finn told the ABC he was "extremely concerned" by another spike in corrections prisoners held inside watch houses. "It's going to end up in a situation where a police officer is hurt, or an inmate in that facility is hurt or killed," he said. "We've got no contingencies if someone gets violent. "If someone has a mental health episode inside that facility, it's further placing our staff at unacceptable risk." Former detainee Willis John Carlow, who was released on Tuesday after 10 days in the Palmerston watch house, said the conditions were "horrible". "We had to s**t in front of everyone and there was no space, just 10 other people — 16 other people — in one space," he said. "You've got to eat while they're taking a s**t so it was pretty bad." Another former detainee, who was also released on Tuesday but wished to remain anonymous, said the women's cells were stained with period blood. "We're all in this room with someone else's period blood all over the sheets and it's just pushed into a pile against the wall." She said the female inmates had created a barricade of mattresses around the cell's toilet for privacy from male correctional officers walking past. "You've got one blocked toilet and then one toilet that barely works and we're supposed to be drinking water from bubblers on top of the toilet," she said. "There was a pregnant woman in there who had stomach pains … and for two weeks in a row was asking to see medical [staff]." The NT's prison population has soared in recent months, partly driven by the NT government's introduction of tougher bail laws. Data from the NT corrections department shows 2,847 prisoners were being held at correctional facilities on Tuesday, including 1,492 at Darwin Correctional Centre. About half of those prisoners are people on remand who have not yet been sentenced or found guilty. The overflow of prisoners is playing out in the courts. More than 185 court matters were listed between just two sitting judges at Darwin Local Court on Tuesday, giving judges about three minutes on average to process each matter. Mr Finn said the NT government had failed to support its "tough-on-crime" agenda with appropriate infrastructure to cope with rising prisoner numbers. Mr Finn also claimed overcrowding inside watch houses was preventing police officers from making arrests. "We've heard from a number of members coming through that limitations in watch house space has led to arrests not being made," he said. NT Police and Mr Maley have been contacted for comment. A department spokesperson said correctional staff have not operated out of the Palmerston police watch house since mid-March.
