Prisoners to bunk up

VIOLENT prisoners will be forced to sleep on top of each other with the State Government to install 1000 bunk beds to try to ease chronic overcrowding.

It comes as new figures show every prison but one – the Borallon Correctional Centre at 99 per cent capacity – is overcrowded.

The state’s 12 prisons have a capacity of 6449 beds but 7734 prisoners are packed in.

Corrections Minister Mark Ryan said the bunk beds had already started to be installed in several prisons.