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Corrections Commissioner provides an update on prisoner numbers, efforts to increase jail capacity and addresses claims about poor conditions

NT Corrections Commissioner Matthew Varley says as of today there are just under 2,700 prisoners in NT jails and work is continuing to increase capacity and ease pressure on the system.

He told Katie Woolf transforming Don Dale into an adult prison was a big step towards that, with the facility currently housing 112 inmates.

Commissioner Matthew Varley acknowledged some cells and dormitories are accommodating up to 16 people, with mattresses on the floor in watch houses, saying it’s not ideal but they are meeting prisoners’ daily needs.

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