Victoria’s so-called “decanting” system has quietly become a dangerous shell game—one that sees more than 300 remand prisoners shuffled between police stations simply to reset the 14-day holding clock. This bureaucratic workaround doesn’t just strain an already stretched policing workforce; it puts officers and prison staff at heightened risk every time a prisoner is moved. Instead of solving a corrections system failure, police are being forced into time-wasting, unsafe, and legally questionable practices that divert them from their true purpose: protecting the community. 

The full article exposes how this administrative sleight of hand undermines safety, erodes accountability, and leaves frontline police carrying the cost of a corrections crisis they didn’t create. With prisons full and officers pulled off the streets to shepherd remandees through endless transfers, the situation is both unsustainable and unjustifiable. The solution, as the article argues, is far simpler—and far more urgent—than authorities admit.  

Read the full story at https://caainc.org.au to understand why this issue demands immediate action.