An inmate who allegedly escaped from custody earlier this week has been found after he was spotted on a public bus.
Northern Territory police received a report about 10.20pm (12am AEDT) on Tuesday that he had escaped a facility on Willard Road in Howard Springs following his last sighting at 7pm during routine bed checks.
The man’s electronic monitoring device alerted staff about 7.55pm that it had been removed 16 kilometres away on Catalina Road and Flockhart Drive, Marlows Lagoon.
Police deployed additional resources to find him.
This afternoon, he was arrested without incident after he was found on a public bus in the Malak area.
He remains in police custody.
The escape comes just a month after another escape from the watch house in the CBD.
The government also announced today that NT Corrections staff and about 90 prisoners exited Palmerston Watch House on Monday.
Deputy Chief Minister Gerard Maley says the move is another milestone in the government’s corrections master plan.
“The police can now use that watch house by themselves, and they can arrest people out there in the community who are doing the wrong thing, put them into their watch house and then move to the court system as they see fit,” Maley said.
“We know that corrections have been in that watch house since about June last year, and the Labor government made many promises to move them out but failed to deliver.”
Acting Police Commissioner Martin Dole said it was “great” that police now have more facilities available.
“There is always going to be at the moment with the current pressures on the justice system, some need for us to have prisoners in our watch houses that should be in the custody of corrections officers, and that’s going to continue for the foreseeable future,” Dole said.
Darwin and Alice Springs watch houses will continue to operate as combined correctional facilities, but Maley said he hopes the prisoners and corrections staff in the Alice Springs watch house will be moved to the Alice Springs prison by the end of the week.
“We know that there were a lot of people in those watch houses for a long time, which would have impacted the police to be able to do their job,” he said.
This announcement comes ahead of security company G4S’s commencement next week to assist with freeing up police and correctional officers.
This move has been criticised by correctional officers, citing concerns about safety and privatisation.
The government also announced that Berrimah Correctional Facility will soon be able to accommodate more than 360 beds by adding 100-bed temporary demountable dormitories.
Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley says work has been taking place seven days a week to make the facility operational.
“The costs continue here because we’re not done yet, and we’ve always said that this facility will continue to expand as we go,” Varley said.
“We’re up to 316 beds. There are further works still to be done on this site, and by next month, we expect another 100 or so beds to come online as we continue block renovations, which will take us to around 400 beds.”
