Melbourne Custody Centre

Last updated

Melbourne Custody Centre
Melbourne Custody Centre
General information
Address520 Lonsdale St, Melbourne VIC 3000, Australia
Website
https://www.police.vic.gov.au

The Melbourne Custody Centre is the main reception facility in Melbourne, Australia for people who have been arrested by police. The centre is located underneath the Melbourne Magistrates' Court and, utilised during the day to hold prisoners who will be attending hearings at the Magistrates, County or Supreme Courts. When the majority of the prisoners who are there during the day have been transported back to their respective facilities, the Victoria Police will, during the evening and night, hold people at the Custody centre when they have been arrested for being "Drunk in a Public Place". [1]

Contents

The facility has been operated by G4S since March 2010.

G4S Take Over

In March 2010, G4S assumed responsibility for the day-to-day running of The Melbourne Custody Centre. Previously GEO Group had been running the facility but were not considered for the re-tender after a number of incidents whilst they were responsible for the unit. G4S assumed responsibility for the Melbourne Custody Centre (MCC) on 28 March 2010 on behalf of Victoria Police. The MCC, which is located under the Melbourne Magistrates' Court, is initially the central location for all prisoners arrested by Victoria Police. It also receives and accommodates prisoners attending the Melbourne Magistrates Court. Prisoners can be accommodated at the MCC for up to 14 days and the majority are then either transferred to the Melbourne Assessment Prison in the case of males, or the Dame Phyllis Frost Centre for females. The MCC can accommodate a maximum of 67 prisoners and there are approximately 22,000 prisoner movements annually.

Victoria Police is responsible for Health Care in the Centre and provides a medical service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Prisoners may receive both social and professional visits, and the Salvation Army provides welfare and spiritual support and is on site daily. G4S is committed to ensuring that the Custody Centre is a secure and safe environment for prisoners, staff and visitors. It is operated in strict compliance with the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.

Incidents while under GEO Group Inc Management

An Ombudsman's report tabled in Parliament in 2007 found that staff at the centre had inadequate training to deal with difficult prisoners and unsatisfactory systems for monitoring incidents. It found there was a culture of excessive force being used by staff. In one such incident in June 2007, a prisoner was seriously mistreated when force was used during a strip search. The Deputy Ombudsman, John Taylor, says the incident is indicative of a wider problem. "We are concerned that there is a culture in the custody centre that tolerates unnecessary force," he said. The Ombudsman has called for better training and oversight of staff by the company contracted to run the facility and by Victoria Police. The Ombudsman also wants prisoners to have better access to telephones so they can contact their lawyers. But Victoria Police's Ashley Dickinson says the incident is not being investigated and he is satisfied with the way the centre is being run. "We monitor the management of the custody centre very closely and we would say that we are happy with the management," he said. It is the second time in eighteen months that the Ombudsman has been critical of the way people are treated in police custody.

Closed circuit TV footage of a prisoner being wrestled to the ground and assaulted has exposed a culture of brute force at the Melbourne Custody Centre, the ombudsman has found. Victorian Ombudsman George Brouwer has called for a review of MCC procedures after finding staff subjected the man to excessive force and "serious mistreatment". The prisoner, identified as Mr A, was left bloodied with a cut to his head after being pinned to the ground and hit during a strip search on June 13, the ombudsman's report said.

Mr A's Experience at MCC

Closed circuit TV footage of a prisoner being wrestled to the ground and assaulted has exposed a culture of brute force at the Melbourne Custody Centre, the ombudsman has found. Victorian Ombudsman George Brouwer has called for a review of MCC procedures after finding staff subjected the man to excessive force and "serious mistreatment".

According to the ombudsman's report,[ citation needed ] the prisoner, identified as Mr A, was left bloodied with a cut to his head after being pinned to the ground and hit during a strip search on June 13. The report was tabled in the Victorian parliament in 2007. It highlighted systematic breaches of procedures and insufficient training and supervision at the MCC.

The centre is under the Melbourne Magistrates Court and houses prisoners on remand pending court appearances and prisoner transfers.

Mr Brouwer said witnesses spoke of a clique of prison officers at the MCC, known as `the family', who dominated the work force. There was a culture of staff favouritism, tolerance of prisoner abuse and fear that those who spoke out would lose their jobs. One witness said officers thrived on aggression: "You've got people there that are wanting to punch on...There's staff members that want to get at the prisoner that's on the floor simply because the prisoner wouldn't listen in the first instance."

Mr Brouwer said it was clear in Mr A's case that officers overreacted and violated his human rights. "I am of the opinion that MCC officers have resorted to the use of force as a first response to situations where verbal techniques ... would have been more appropriate," he said. "The use of force must be a last resort."

Mr A was on remand after being arrested at his home during a search warrant. CCTV footage shows one custody officer, identified as Officer X, lunging at the prisoner's throat as he complains about being strip searched. He ends up pinned to the floor by four officers, including Officer X's girlfriend, Officer Z, who struck him in the head. "While I'm on the ground she smacked my head into the ground and blood started coming out," Mr A said in the report.

Victoria Police is investigating the assault and the two officers will undergo disciplinary action. The contractor who operates the centre, GEO Group Australia, issued a statement saying they disagreed with key aspects of the report and had a zero tolerance policy on prisoner mistreatment. Mr Brouwer recommended a review of operations at the MCC, installation of a telephone system so prisoners could contact their lawyers and greater monitoring by Victoria Police. He also expressed dismay that the MCC was being used as a "de facto prison", with inmates often held for up to 28 days, despite his protests last year that stays be limited to one or two days. The Law Institute of Victoria and the Opposition agreed. "It's not designed to be a long term prison ... it's designed only for short term holding," Opposition police spokesman Andrew McIntosh said.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">G4S</span> British multinational private security services company

G4S is a British multinational private security company headquartered in London, England. The company was set up in July 2004 when London-based Securicor amalgamated with Danish firm Group 4 Falck. The company offers a range of services, including the supply of security personnel, monitoring equipment, response units and secure prisoner transportation. G4S also works with governments overseas to deliver security services.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">City of Brimbank</span> Local government area in Victoria, Australia

The City of Brimbank is a local government area located within the metropolitan area of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. It comprises the western suburbs between 10 and 20 km west and northwest from the Melbourne city centre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Victoria Police</span> Police service of Victoria, Australia

Victoria Police is the primary law enforcement agency of the Australian state of Victoria. It was formed in 1853 and currently operates under the Victoria Police Act 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Penhalluriack</span>

Francis Penhalluriack is an Australian businessman, entrepreneur and local political figure. He is most notable for opening his Caulfield, Victoria, hardware store outside of legislated trading hours in the 1980s. His actions eventually led to a dramatic change in retail trading laws in Victoria, Australia.

HM Prison Birmingham is a Category B men's prison in the Winson Green area of Birmingham, England, operated by HM Prison and Probation Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magistrates' Court of Victoria</span> Lower court of Victoria, Australia

The Magistrates' Court of Victoria is the lowest court in the Australian state of Victoria.

Corrections Victoria is part of the Department of Justice and Community Safety in the Victorian Government, and is responsible for the provision of custodial and community-based services as an important element of the criminal justice system in the state of Victoria, Australia. In March 2018, Dr Emma Cassar was announced as the new Commissioner of Corrections Victoria to commence in June 2018.

The Metropolitan Remand Centre is an Australian prison located at Ravenhall, Victoria, approximately 20 kilometres from the Melbourne CBD on the Western Freeway. The prison is a maximum security remand facility which opened in April 2006 and is operated by the Victorian Department of Justice and Regulation.

The Melbourne Magistrates' Court is the largest venue at which the Magistrates' Court of Victoria sits. It is a court in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia that deals with, and dispenses of, a range of criminal and civil matters, including criminal prosecutions, money claims and disputes up to $100,000, and family violence and family law proceedings.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tasty nightclub raid</span>

The Tasty nightclub raid was an incident on 7 August 1994 during which 463 mostly LGBTIQ+ patrons of the Tasty nightclub event in Melbourne, Australia were detained for seven hours, strip searched and cavity searched by members of Victoria Police. A class action ensued, resulting a total payout of around A$6 million to the complainants, and in 1994 Acting Chief Commissioner Lucinda Nolan apologised to the LGBTQI community.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Scottish Prison Service</span> Executive agency

The Scottish Prison Service (SPS) is an executive agency of the Scottish Government tasked with managing prisons and Young Offender Institutions.

The Office of Police Integrity (OPI) was the Australian state of Victoria independent police oversight and anti-corruption agency established by the Victorian Government in November 2004. OPI ceased operation on 9 February 2013 and was replaced by the Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC). OPI's official role was to detect, investigate and prevent police corruption and serious misconduct and to ensure that police members had regard to the human rights set out in the Victorian Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hong Kong Correctional Services</span> Hong Kong government department

Correctional Services Department (CSD) is responsible for the management of prisoners and prisons in Hong Kong. The Commissioner of Correctional Services reports to the Secretary for Security.

George Brouwer is the most recent former Victorian Ombudsman. He was appointed to the position in 2004. His term expired in March 2014. Concurrently with work as Ombudsman, was also head of Victoria's Office of Police Integrity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Death of John Pat</span>

John Peter Pat was an Aboriginal Australian boy who, at the age of 16 years and 11 months, died while in the custody of Western Australia Police.

Deborah Glass is an Australian lawyer, who has been the Victorian Ombudsman since March 2014.

G4S describes itself as "the world's leading provider of security solutions" and provides security services for over 40 embassies around the world, work as stewards at football stadiums and runs over six British prisons, operates prisoner tagging schemes, assists within the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) in the United Kingdom, and provides administrative roles to the health and education sectors. The company operates as a subsidiary of an American security services provider Allied Universal since April 2021.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">January 2017 Melbourne car attack</span> 2017 car attack in Melbourne, Victoria

On 20 January 2017, around 1:30 pm AEDT on a busy Friday, a car was deliberately driven into pedestrians along Bourke Street in the Melbourne central business district, Victoria, Australia. Six people were killed and twenty-seven were seriously injured. The driver of the vehicle, James "Dimitrious" Gargasoulas, who was in a drug-induced psychosis, was subsequently found guilty of six counts of murder and was sentenced to life in prison with a non-parole period of 46 years.

Brook House Immigration Removal Centre is a privately managed detention centre, operated by Serco on behalf of Home Office. The facility is situated in the grounds of Gatwick Airport, Crawley, West Sussex.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">December 2017 Melbourne car attack</span> Incident in December 2017 in Melbourne, Australia

On 21 December 2017, at 4:41 pm AEDT, a driver rammed pedestrians with his car at the corner of Flinders Street and Elizabeth Street in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, killing one person and injuring seventeen others, including himself. The sole fatality, an elderly man, died eight days after the attack.

References

  1. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2009. Retrieved 10 September 2009.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link). Ombudsman Victoria Annual Report 2007. Retrieved on September 11, 2009.

37°48′48″S144°57′23″E / 37.81333°S 144.95639°E / -37.81333; 144.95639