Suicide bid in police cell

A PRISONER tried to kill himself in Narre Warren police station last Thursday, after spending 72 days in police holding cells.
The man, who had been transported from Dandenong police station holding cells on Monday, was on remand pending a court appearance and had been moved between various stations over the past two and a half months.
The State Opposition has been quick to label the situation an absolute disgrace, and said it was not up to police to ‘babysit’ prisoners.
Opposition police spokesperson Kim Wells said overcrowding in the Victorian corrections system, exacerbated by the delayed opening of the new remand prison, has meant more front-line police had been taken off the beat to look after prisoners in police cells.
“This is a responsibility of the Corrections Department, not Narre Warren police.
“I have been told that there was an issue of overflow from Dandenong police station and because of this, surrounding stations were being lumbered with prisoners,” he said. “Why the prisoner was housed for such a long time in police holding cells is beyond me. Tim Holding must immediately explain to Victorians why community safety is being placed at risk with so many front-line police being taken off the beat to look after prisoners in police cells.
The Liberal candidate for Gembrook, Simon Wildes, also weighed into the issue this week, saying more jails needed to be opened to urgently reduce the number of prisoners being held in police cells.
Mr Wildes said the State Government’s plans to restrict the use of suspended sentences would also add further pressure to Victoria’s prison system and the matter needed to be addressed immediately.
Casey District Inspector Robert Hill was reluctant to say this week just how many officers were used to monitor the police holding cells at Narre Warren, citing security reasons.
However, he confirmed there had been an incident last Thursday morning where a prisoner had attempted to commit suicide.
“There was an attempt to take his own life and police intervened as a consequence.
“Managing prisoners is certainly fairly resource-intensive, but we are not a complex that normally houses long-term prisoners. The advantage was that we had adequate staff rostered on which saw timely intervention,” he said.
State Police Minister Tim Holding this week described the situation as unacceptable and disappointing.
His spokesperson said the State Government had been concerned for some time that there were too many people being held in police cells and, in a small number of cases, for far too long.
“The Government is doing something about this situation through the opening of a new remand centre and through the introduction of a new prison management system,” he said.
The prisoner was not seriously injured and was being housed at the Melbourne Assessment Prison.