CLP Boosts Support for Frontline Police, Corrections
The Finocchiaro CLP Government is taking further action to ease the load on hardworking frontline police and correctional officers, with a new agreement between the NT Corrections and G4S to expand prisoner transport and custody services across the Territory.
As part of our year of action, certainty and security, this agreement will see 85 additional G4S officers deployed over the next six months, delivering critical support so police can spend more time in the community and corrections staff can focus on their core custodial roles.
Under the expanded partnership, G4S will:
Introduce a 24/7 service in Darwin, backed by a local workforce.Take on prisoner escorts, hospital bedsits, and support watch house duties, freeing police for frontline response.Manage the Darwin Transitional Custody Centre (DTCC) to ease pressure on watch houses and ensure smoother prisoner transitions.
Minister for Corrections Gerard Maley said the move is all about putting frontline resources where Territorians need them most.
“This is about taking pressure off our police and corrections officers so they can focus on what they do best – keeping communities safe,” Minister Maley said.
“By outsourcing these external duties to G4S, we’re ensuring police are on the beat instead of stuck in watch houses, and corrections officers can concentrate on managing facilities securely and effectively.”
The DTCC will replace the current Darwin Watch House in the CBD, allowing corrections staff to return to core roles at Darwin and Berrimah Correctional Centres, while G4S takes on hospital bedsit services at Royal Darwin and Palmerston hospitals.
Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley said this model provides targeted support where it matters most.
“G4S staff will continue to operate strictly outside the wire, supporting our internal operations by taking on selected external duties that allow our officers to concentrate on the core custodial environment,” Mr Varley said.
“This next phase includes the introduction of a 24/7 roster model, and we are now working closely with G4S to deliver a Northern Territory-based workforce.
Minister Maley said the new services will help relieve immediate pressure while extra capacity comes online.
“We know there are pressures at the Palmerston Watch House and we’re continuing to work closely with police, but we won’t leave criminals on the streets. We’re working as quickly as we can to get more beds online to ease that burden,” he said.
A further 238 beds are expected by mid-August, on top of the 600 beds already delivered since the CLP Government came to office.
https://nt.gov.au/