A coalition of Aboriginal and legal advocacy organisations has warned that a death in police custody is "imminent" unless the Victorian Government closes a loophole they say allows detainees to be held in police cells beyond the state's 14-day legal limit.
On Wednesday, the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service (VALS), alongside the Aboriginal Justice Caucus, Koorie Youth Council, Federation of Community Legal Centres, Human Rights Law Centre and Youthlaw, launched an open letter calling for an end to prolonged detention in police cells.
Victorian police cells are experiencing overcrowding and unsanitary conditions, with reports of denied basic healthcare, hygiene, family contact, privacy, and access to fresh air, alongside unmet medical needs, the open letter states.
"The inhumane conditions that people are being subjected to in Victorian police cells are a direct result of regressive, knee-jerk policy decisions.
"Our organisations have been sounding the alarm about the horrific treatment of people in police custody. These warnings have been ignored, and we are now in a situation where the state is incapable of meeting the most basic human rights of individuals in custody."
'Decanting' practice under scrutiny
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In February, National Indigenous Times reported prisoners on remand were being transferred between facilities across the state to ease overcrowding following the government's new bail laws, with one Indigenous man held across multiple cells for 26 days.
To manage pressure, prisoners are shifted between stations in a process known as "decanting", which effectively resets how long they can be kept in custody.
VALS lawyers sought an urgent injunction for their client Nathan, a Gunaikurnai man in Sale, alleging he was being held in abhorrent conditions.
He was moved about 200 kilometres away from family and community, and spent 26 days in police cells before being transferred to prison.
"I have been moved away from my family and community, for no reason other than to deny my rights and inflict harm and trauma," Nathan said at the time.
"I want it to stop, not just for me but for my people. I want to leave police custody...I shouldn't be in police gaol. I should be in prison, where I can get better medical care. I feel myself deteriorating every day in here.
"I was so fearful that I was going to die in police custody."
'Imminent risk to life'
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Detainees held in police cells are afforded different protections than those in prison, with many not yet found guilty of a crime.
The Corrections Act sets standards not reflected in police custody guidelines, including at least an hour outdoors each day and recognition that detainees are not sentenced prisoners.
VALS CEO Nerita Waight said police cells posed an "imminent risk to life" and accused the government of failing to respond to a foreseeable crisis.
"What haunts me is the lack of action by the Victorian Government and Victoria Police to address this issue," she said.
"Every day we are just waiting, waiting to hear the worst news, that someone in our community has lost their life in a police cell. There are no unintended consequences here; this government's pursuit of mass incarceration will cost lives; it is simply a matter of time."
Calls for legislative and oversight reform
The open letter calls on the government and police to:
- End detention in police cells beyond 14 days
- Stop transferring detainees between police stations to circumvent the 14-day limit
- Legislate equal rights for people held in police custody and prison custody
- Reduce the maximum detention period in police cells from 14 days to seven days
- Establish an independent Police Ombudsman to oversee custody conditions
"Shockingly, the Victorian Police Association recently admitted that it is only a matter of time before someone dies in police cells as a result of overcrowding or extended stays in police cells," the coalition of organisations say.
"When even the Police Association recognises this issue, yet police members continue these inhumane practices, it is crucial that there be oversight and monitoring of people being mistreated in police cells by an independent statutory body like a Police Ombudsman."
Disproportionate impact on First Nations people
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The Aboriginal Justice Caucus argued it had previously warned the government that tighter bail laws would increase police cell detention.
The Koorie Youth Council said Aboriginal children and young people were being disproportionately affected.
Bonnie Dukakis, CEO of the Koorie Youth Council, said: "Aboriginal children and young people should not be detained in police cells. The conditions are inhumane and cause significant harm and trauma to our young people."
Co-Chairs of the Aboriginal Justice Caucus, Aunty Marion Hansen and Chris Harrison, added: "These laws are not just punitive - they are reckless, unnecessary, and starkly at odds with the government's commitments to human rights and justice reforms."
