Overcrowding and deteriorating conditions continue to strain Queensland watch houses almost 12 months after an internal review identified serious problems across the network.
Queensland Police Service (QPS) data shows regional watch houses are among the worst, with some facilities regularly operating well beyond their intended capacity.
In Toowoomba, 130 kilometres west of Brisbane, the watch house has exceeded capacity nearly every month since January 2025.
The problem peaked in March when the 23-bed facility recorded an average daily occupancy of 45 prisoners, almost double its designed capacity.
Further north, Maryborough’s four-bed watch house held an average of 11 people a day in February 2026.
Queensland Police Union president Shane Prior said the overcrowding was creating unacceptable conditions for both prisoners and staff.
Shane Prior says overcrowded watch houses are a serious workplace health and safety risk. (ABC News)
“That is a dire situation,” Mr Prior said, adding prisoners were often forced to share cells, beds and, in some cases, sleep on mattresses on the floor.
He said the pressure on regional watch houses was also affecting frontline policing.
“Police in Dalby often have to stop attending calls for help in the community to return to the police station to safely help feed or move prisoners in the watch house,” he said.
Mr Prior recently completed a shift at the Townsville watch house.
“Frankly, the working conditions that our people turn up to every day to do their job are disgusting,”
he said.
The union has lodged a formal complaint with Workplace Health and Safety Queensland over conditions in police watch houses.
Shane Prior describes the state’s network of watch houses as an “aging fleet”. (Supplied: Queensland Police Union)
A 2025 internal review into the watch house network found facilities designed to hold people for fewer than 72 hours had increasingly become long-term custodial environments.
The review made 34 recommendations to modernise watch houses and return them to their original short-term processing purpose, all of which were accepted by QPS at the time.
Mr Prior said delays in transferring prisoners into the correctional system were a key contributor to the problem.
“Seventy to 80 per cent of prisoners in our watch houses should not be there in the first place. They should be in a Queensland Corrective Services facility,” he said.
He accused Queensland Corrective Services (QCS) of exploiting a legislative “loophole” that allowed some prisoners to remain in watch houses for up to 21 days.
“That needs to change back down to three days,” Mr Prior said.
“Queensland Corrective Services need to come and get their prisoners and put them in their facilities.”
A QCS spokesperson said prisoner intakes had increased in recent months, and the agency was working with police to manage transfers.
This picture from the Queensland Police Union shows a watch house door held together with plywood and tape. (Supplied: Queensland Police Union)
“QCS facilitates additional transfers where operationally possible, including receiving high-risk prisoners 24 hours a day,” the spokesperson said.
“Only remanded adult prisoners or adults on a return-to-prison warrant are eligible for transfer to a QCS facility.”
Mr Prior acknowledged recent figures from Toowoomba suggested some improvement.
“I’ll give credit where it’s due. Toowoomba watch house numbers have dropped to an acceptable level,” he said.
However, according to union data, the Maryborough watch house has been over 100 per cent capacity for most of June.
Mr Prior said longer-term solutions were needed to prevent chronic overcrowding from returning.
“Whether that’s investment in Queensland Corrective Services facilities or new watch house facilities that are fit for purpose, something has to change,” he said.
Police Minister Dan Purdie said the state government had inherited a system under significant pressure.
Dan Purdie says the former Labor government neglected the system and left children and officers in unsafe, inhumane conditions. (ABC News: Lucas Hill)
“The Crisafulli government is acting immediately to undo Labor’s failings, starting with a $16 million investment and a full system overhaul,” the minister said.
That investment was announced nearly 12 months ago.
Mr Prior said he was worried about what might happen if the issues were not fixed soon.
“I fear more police will be seriously hurt or a person in custody may lose their lives,” he said.
“It’s a ticking time bomb.”
