Auditor-General Exposes Serious Court Security Problems
A report by the Auditor-General tabled in Parliament today has found there are serious security problems in Magistrates’ Courts across Victoria, with inadequate weapons checks and security cameras.
The Auditor-General found that there have been 584 reported security incidents in Victorian Magistrates’ Courts over the past two years.
In just two courts where weapons searches are conducted – the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court and the Children’s Court – there have been 1,382 weapons seized in the past two years.
More than one in 12 searches resulted in a weapon being seized.
Highest 2005-06 security incident levels were:
159 incidents at Frankston Court
45 at Broadmeadows Court
39 at Heidelberg Court
19 at Ringwood Court.
The Auditor-General has also found:
Not all courts have a police presence continuously during court sitting times
No country courts have protective services officers
41 courts do not have security cameras
43 courts do not have access to electronic hands wands
Three isolated courts (Hopetoun, Omeo, Ouyen) do not have duress alarms
The Frankston court does not have security cameras at the front entrance or inside the building. (pp.33-34)
Shadow Attorney General Robert Clark says the findings are extremely disturbing.
“With more than one in 12 searches at just two courts resulting in a weapons seizure, it is likely that large numbers of weapons are being taken into other Magistrates’ Courts but are going completely undetected,” Mr Clark said.
“Events of recent days show how vulnerable Victorians are to unprovoked violent attacks in Victoria’s public places.
“As the Auditor-General points out, it is imperative that the Government ensures security risks to staff, court users and the general public are minimized.
“Yet the government’s only response is to issue a tender “for professional advice to assist the Government in developing a safe and cost effective solution”. (p.6).
“This report requires immediate Government action, not just more ‘looking into’ the problem.”