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“We’re not uncaring about this. We hope to engage more with the courts, so we’re very aware who the priorities are for the court. It is a very difficult situation.”
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Hosking said people arrested overnight were prioritised over people on remand and revealed meetings were regularly taking place between the deputy chief magistrate, senior police and her organisation to try and resolve the issue.
But Hosking complained they were not receiving a list from the court to assist with ensuring priority people were transported between jail and court each day.
In another case, accused Easey Street double killer Perry Kouroumblis, 66, was days into a preliminary hearing when one morning he didn’t make the transport list.
Court was delayed for almost two hours while the situation was rectified.
The state amended the Bail Act in March to prioritise community safety and make it tougher to be granted bail for some offences, such as violent crimes.
Perry Kouroumblis has pleaded not guilty to murdering two women on Easey Street, Collingwood, in 1977.
This has seen bail applications given precedence over other types of cases, according to a Court Services Victoria document provided to a parliamentary inquiry.
Senior Sergeant Tim Lawrence, from the police custody management division, told the court all 20 cells at the Heidelberg courthouse were full on the day the Indigenous woman was due to be sentenced.
Lawrence said 24 people across the state were unable to be brought to court that day alone, with no short-term solution in sight.
“These are trying times. The figures are astronomically high,” he said.
“We’re all frustrated with the current system. We’re trying to make it work the best we can. There is no short-term solution, unfortunately.
There were 2547 unsentenced inmates on remand in Victorian jails in October.Credit: Paul Jeffers
“I’d be reluctant to provide guarantees which, hand on heart, I know cannot be delivered at the moment.”
Poulter was scathing of the situation, saying it was the fourth time in her courtroom alone that the system had failed.
A plan was eventually put in place for prison staff to drive the accused woman to court themselves on her next available court date in December.
Corrections Victoria data shows there’s been a 21 per cent rise in the number of unsentenced inmates in the first 10 months of this year, when compared to the same time last year.
As of October 31, there were 2547 unsentenced inmates on remand. A further 4232 sentenced prisoners were also in the state’s jails.
The average number of unsentenced inmates a decade ago was 1525.
Last month, this masthead revealed magistrates were furious that bail law changes had fuelled legal logjams.
Custody cells beneath Melbourne Magistrates’ Court were so full in November that corrections staff were being forced to choose who they could transport in from the state’s police stations and remand centres to face court in person.
Those who weren’t given priority were left to appear on video links that didn’t work or had their cases adjourned until they could appear.
Law and Advocacy Centre for Women’s Ellen Murphy said the delays in getting people to court were a completely predictable consequence of the state’s bail reforms.
Murphy said the overcrowding in police cells was particularly concerning for Koori courts that require physical attendance so the accused can participate in a sentencing conversation with Aboriginal Elders and the magistrate.
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