Inmates moved to prison 1500km away

The movement of female people in prison from Alice Springs to Darwin is nearly the same distance as moving someone from London to Rome.

Women incarcerated in Alice Springs have been transferred to Darwin by the territory government in response to a skyrocketing prison population.

There are significant concerns around this move, which has taken incarcerated women far away from their homes and communities.

The newly-elected Northern Territory government has confirmed that all female people being held at the Alice Springs Correctional Centre have been moved to a section within the Darwin Correctional Centre in order to make room for 40 men.

This came as the prison population in the territory hit a record 2370 people due to a “rapid and continuing surge” of people, forcing the territory to adopt an “emergency” plan also involving incarcerating people in police watch houses.

The skyrocketing prison population is largely the result of new reforms around mandatory sentencing, bail, public drinking and the lowering of the minimum age of criminal responsibility.

Now almost 1% of the Northern Territory population is in prison, a massively higher proportion than any other jurisdiction in Australia. In Victoria, about 0.08% of the population is incarcerated.

In the territory, 1150 out of every 100,000 people are in prison, compared to the national average of 208 per 100,000 people.

The transfer of the imprisoned women more than 1500km away puts them at “extreme risk” and has taken them away from their family, children and support networks, the National Network of Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls said in a statement.

“This forced transfer is in direct violation of the women’s rights, placing significant barriers between the women, their families, and vital re-entry and support services,” the National Network’s Debbie Kilroy said.

“This harmful, unilateral move risks devastating impacts, including increased mental distress and the potential for deaths in custody. It speaks to a broader, systemic targeting of Aboriginal communities, which is exacerbated by ongoing political and media rhetoric aimed at criminalising and marginalising Aboriginal people in custody.”

Nearly half of those imprisoned in the Northern Territory are being held on remand and have not been found guilty of a crime.

The NT government will also be transferring all children held at the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre to Darwin.

Soon after it was elected, the NT government moved last month to pass laws to lower the age of criminal responsibility in the territory to 10 and create new offences and stronger penalties for other offences.

Breach of bail as an offence for children will also be reintroduced, a single bail presumption regime will apply to adults and children and there will be a presumption against bail for all alleged serious violence offences, regardless of whether a weapon is involved.