Prisons At Breaking Point

Illawarra Mercury

Wednesday February 14, 2007

By ANDREW DRUMMOND

THE statewide shortage of prisoner accommodation again reached crisis point this week, with Sydney remand detainees shipped to Wollongong.

A Corrective Services spokesman said yesterday that cells beneath Wollongong courthouse, capable of housing 18 people, were occupied by 23 prisoners.

Eight of the prisoners, described as "overflow from Sydney", arrived at Wollongong on Monday night.

"Five have been there for some days while waiting for vacancies at (Sydney's) Silverwater remand centre," he confirmed.

Four other prisoners were in the cells awaiting court appearances yesterday and a further six arrived yesterday morning after being charged at Port Kembla police station.

Cell crowding at Wollongong has been reported more than three times in the past year. In November a prisoner complained to a magistrate that he had been held in the cells for a week without medication or a change of clothes.

"It's not ideal to have anyone in a court cell for any period of time and as soon as we can possibly move them out of the cells we do," the spokesman said.

"In the past five years we have seen a 26 per cent increase in the number of remands, mainly due to a tightening of the bail act, which is putting pressure on the system."

The spokesman could not confirm how much longer the prisoners would be held at Wollongong, but said each received three meals a day, medicine if required and clean prison clothes.

Construction of two new prisons - at Nowra and Wellington - capable of housing 1000 prisoners is expected to ease the strain but the first will not accept prisoners until September.

"Construction at Wellington is due to finish in June and will be ready to take 500 prisoners in September and another 500 beds will come on line when the prison at Nowra is completed in 2010," he said.

© 2007 Illawarra Mercury

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