Prisoners sleep on mattresses on floor

Prisoners have been sleeping on mattresses on concrete floors at Tauranga police station, six months after the Government claimed to have fixed the prison overcrowding crisis.

The officer in charge of the station watch-house, Senior Sergeant Ross Bielby, said extra mattresses were regularly put on the floor to cope with increased numbers.

The Tauranga police station has 10 cells - some are single and others can accommodate two prisoners.

When there are nine or 10 prisoners and patrols make more arrests, then "we often have to put a mattress onthe floor", Mr Bielby said.

"It's not how the cells were designed, but it works."

The police hire jailers to look after the remand prisoners.

- NZPA