NT justice system in crisis as tough-on-crime laws see courts, prisons overwhelmed

ABC NEWS (Australia)

A system at breaking point in the Northern Territory, and it's only getting worse. Arrest numbers through the roof, courts and lawyers struggling to keep up with demand, and prisons and watch houses are full to bursting.  As new measures are introduced to move cases through courts quicker, workers in the sector say more has to give.

Transcript

00:00Overcrowded, overworked, overwhelmed.

00:06The Northern Territory's justice system is in crisis.

00:09The NT government acknowledging the role they've played.

00:12We recognise that the courts have been under pressure with the new laws that we introduced

00:18which came into effect earlier this week.

00:21This is just part of our plan to ensure that we are keeping our community safe.

00:26The CLP's new tough on crime initiatives have driven a major increase in arrests.

00:31It's left lawyers struggling to service all their clients and courts unable to keep up

00:36with the amount of cases coming through the doors.

00:39In response, courts are expanding with three new acting judges and an extra bail and arrest

00:44court to get through the mounting cases.

00:48If those numbers of people who are being apprehended continue to increase, which makes our community

00:53safer, then we will look to put on even more resources that will be able to handle the

00:59number of offenders coming forward because it's all about having justice for victims.

01:03But those working in the sector say it's only addressing a small part of a big problem.

01:09That may ease the pressure on the judicial system, but unfortunately that's just going

01:13to see more and more people being squeezed into fewer and fewer spaces in the Northern

01:19Territory's jails and correctional facilities.

01:22The ongoing pressure on the system is leading to broader and much more serious concerns.

01:28We heard this week from the NT Police Association that they're concerned that there's going

01:33to be a death in custody as a result of the overcrowding, the use of facilities that are

01:38not meant to be jails and we share those concerns, they're very serious concerns.

01:44The CLP says it's all part of its plan to reduce crime, but the only results we're seeing

01:49so far is numbers reaching record levels and no clear evidence that crime rates are

01:55on the decline.

01:56But the government says to trust the process, and so now it's a game of wait and see.

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