Lost email causes free man to be jailed for six weeks

A South Australia man was wrongly jailed for six weeks after an email ordering him to be released was missed.

A court earlier this year ruled the man should be released on a good-behaviour bond from Mobilong prison after being charged with breach of bail and disorderly behaviour, News Corp reports.

A spokesman for the Correctional Services Department told The Advertiser an email from courts advising of the release decision had been overlooked.

As a result no follow-up call was made to the courts seeking the official paperwork needed for the release.

The incident emerged only after the release of documents under the Freedom of Information Act into so-called "critical incidents" in prisons, News Corp reports.

Other bungles included a mental health patient being put in jail rather than a hospital because of bed shortages, while another paperwork issue caused a man who should have been freed to be jailed overnight because forms could not be filled in until the next day.

Family First member for the South Australian Legislative Council Robert Brokenshire said staffing shortages were to blame.

"These mistakes and the violence is so typical when you get a situation when there are not enough rooms and occupational health and safety is stretched to a point where the rubber band breaks," Mr Brokenshire said.

"The issues of the assaults, a mental health patient being kept in jail and also the issue of keeping prisoners in police cells, they are all symptoms of a pressured prison system."

The documents released to Mr Brokenshire show every month there are around 21 critical incidents in prisons, mainly violence between prisoners, but also security breaches and attacks on officers.

The departmental spokesman said the four incidents were a tiny percentage of the 5200 communications each year between courts and prisons, and continual improvements were being made.

Source: Adelaide Now