Remand idea not favoured

Press, 26 August 1977, Page 21

Remand idea not favoured

Holding remanded prison-’ jers in the Central Police! Station cells was not fav-l ■ cured because of serious com-; ! plaints from solicitors and! I others about the practice,' said the head of the Christ-i ; church police uniformed! branch (Superintendent J. A. .Jamieson. , He was commenting on al 'suggestion by the Public Ser-' vice Association that some j prisoners be kept in the! I police station cells when Ad-j idington Prison is full. All prisoners remanded by) | the court are usually kept at! I Addington. I Concern by the P.S.A.; ■ about overcrowding at Ad- 1 dington was prompted by thei attack on five prison officers I in an escape by four pri-. : soners last Thursday. Mr Jamieson said that com-; plaints had been made in the past when prisoners who had: been remanded too late to! be taken to Addington had! been kept in the police station cells. Tlte 65 cells at the station [were not designed to be used as a prison. The facilities

’were not comparable to those; [at Addington. I The station cell block was) ■ almost completely below; I street level and had no win-i clows or natural light. Out-[ I side exercise facilities did not i exist. Meals brought down three floors from the police i staff kitchen were given to i prisoners in the dayroom, the 'only indoor exercise area. Although there were norm[ally less than 20 persons (held in the cells overnight, |on one occasion 60 motorj cyclists had been arrested land held in the cells overnight. j Using the cells for reI manded prisoners would re- ; quire more staff and would [be difficult to administer because two different types of [prisoner would be held in [the same block. Mr Jamieson said that any! :approach by the P.S.A. to I [use the police station cells) I for “overflow” remanded) prisoners would be handled! by Justice Department and[ Police Department officials in; Wellington. He was aware of; such an approach.