2026-02-24
The Greens have called for an end to harmful ‘decanting’ practices in Victorian police custody. It comes after news that hundreds of uncharged Victorians are being moved around police cells each night due to overcrowding in police cells and prisons.
It was reported that one Aboriginal man was held in various police cells for 26 days.
Victorian Greens spokesperson for Justice, Katherine Copsey said keeping people in police cells for extended periods puts people who have been denied bail at risk of dying in custody with Aboriginal women most at risk.
We know that 65% of Aboriginal women who are denied bail will be released without serving any time under sentence. And since Premier Jacinta Allan introduced punitive bail laws, the rate of women being remanded (denied bail) has increased more than men, despite the fact men are more likely to commit violent offences.
Last year Katherine Copsey asked the Corrections Minister about this matter.
Quotes attributable to Victorian Greens Justice spokesperson, Katherine Copsey:
“It’s unconscionable that Jacinta Allan’s Labor Government would put people who are supposed to be in police care at risk. Even the Police Association is warning that it’s just a matter of time until there is a death in custody.
“Jacinta Allan’s Labor Government is unfairly keeping more First Nations people in jail with their punitive bail laws and now they are risking their lives, keeping them in dangerous conditions.
“Jacinta Allan’s Labor Government has spent billions of dollars to drive up reoffending rates, and is causing irreparable damage to the most vulnerable in the community, including risking preventable deaths in custody.”
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Media contact: Iliana Keskerides 0491 012 791