Private buildings in plan to ease jail overcrowding

• HIGH ALERT: Prisons on watch for gang, bikie threat
• TOUGH POLICIES: Spike in women in prison
• BEHIND BARS: Life is slow for the devils inside
• INTEL: Prisons turn to spycraft to keep tabs on criminal networks
• GALLERY: Barwon maximum | Port Phillip maximum

VICTORIA'S prison overcrowding crisis has forced the Napthine Government to search for privately owned buildings that can be bought and transformed into minimum security prisons. 

A range of options are being assessed, including former school bush camp sites, that could host female prisoners without greatly disrupting local neighbourhoods.

The move comes as the Sunday Herald Sun can reveal that at least $2.5 million in wages and other costs is being sucked out of Victoria Police every month because officers are ­being forced to act as jailers.

At one stage last week, 357 offenders were squeezed into police cells overnight, ripping dozens of police away from frontline duties.

Of the 357 offenders, 322 were Corrections Victoria prisoners who should have been in jails or remand centres.

Police Association secretary Greg Davies said the problem had become "ridiculous".

"We're not trying to be alarmist, nor are we trying to make trouble for a government that did not create the problem," Mr Davies said.

"But there is a very real chance that this will end in tears, or worse, if it is not positively and urgently addressed."

To address the problem urgently, Mr Davies said vacant government buildings should be transformed into prisons because "we simply can't wait five years for Ravenhall to come on line".

"Any sort of facility - ideally one that already has a commercial kitchen in it, that could have some razor wire fencing and CCTV installed," he said.

While the Sunday Herald Sun understands there are no plans to use government buildings to house prisoners, the radical move of transforming privately owned facilities into minimum security prisons is under way.

news.com.au 23 Nov 2013

The Australian police force have specific instructions from the government to follow quotas given to arrest, incarcerate, fine and charge the general populous for various 'offences ' under whatever pretext seen fit by the issuing 'officer'.

This is basically police corruption of the highest degree, which now is being supported by further government action by making Queensland police IMMUNE from prosecution of any form of law suite.

See article:

Police to gain protection from being sued

http://corpau.blogspot.com.au/2013/11/police-to-gain-protecion-from-being-sued.html

Australia is in the forefront of being officially called the POLICE STATE.