A brand new Northern Territory youth detention facility is on the cusp of opening and accepting detainees in Darwin, multiple sources have told to the ABC.
The long-delayed opening of the facility in the suburb of Holtze comes during a prison population boom that has seen jails swell to record capacity in Darwin and Alice Springs.
On Sunday, the NT government announced "emergency measures" to address the "extraordinary risks" posed by overcrowding of prisoners in police watch houses and prisons.
The plan involves transferring dozens of adult and child prisoners across various correctional facilities to free up prison beds.
The ABC understands youth detainees will soon be moved out of their current location at Don Dale Youth Detention Centre, also called the Berrimah prison, to the new youth detention centre in Holtze to make way for an influx of male adult prisoners.
On Monday, NT Chief Minister Lia Finocchiaro confirmed at a press conference that Berrimah jail was expected to receive adult prisoners in the coming days.
"As soon as the Berrimah facility comes online in a matter of days, we're going to be able to alleviate the pressure on our corrections system," Ms Finocchiaro said.
Corrections Minister Gerard Maley said in a statement the "immediate conversion" of the Berrimah jail would accommodate up to 50 low-security male prisoners.
Mr Maley said it would see the addition of "200 beds by early next year".
While Mr Maley has not yet said whether the new youth detention centre will accept inmates by the end of this week, he has said it will be opened "as a matter of urgency".
Prison guards concerned by staff shortage
United Workers Union NT secretary Erina Early said while the Berrimah jail would ease some pressure on the prison system, there were not enough workers on hand.
"It will make some difference but we don't have correctional officers," Ms Early said.
"So they're just kind of moving people around like on a chessboard at the moment."
On Sunday, Ms Early warned prison guards were considering walking off the job this week due to concerns the "crisis" levels of prison overcrowding would threaten their personal safety.
She said Alice Springs' adult prison was short of up to 100 officers and Darwin's adult prison was short of up to 70 officers.
The NT government recently announced it would also permanently move young detainees from the Alice Springs Youth Detention Centre to Darwin as part of its "emergency response" to overcrowding.
Danila Dilba chief executive Rob McPhee said the Aboriginal health service did not support the transfer of Central Australian children to Darwin.
"Many of these children are living with diagnosed and undiagnosed disabilities and have histories of trauma and mental illness," he said.
"Sending them 1,500 kilometres away from their families, community and country is only going to add to their distress … and a continued cycle of reoffending."
David Villegas, the NT regional secretary of the Community and Public Sector Union, said youth justice officers were already concerned about overcrowding at the new youth justice centre in Darwin before it had even begun accepting detainees.
"The CPSU has called for immediate action from NT Corrections to tackle our members' concerns about safe staffing levels and the risk of overcrowding in detention centres," Mr Villegas said in a statement.
"We will continue to raise these matters with NT Corrections until they are adequately addressed."
Justice advocates question government's prison plan
Natalie Hunter, organiser of human rights advocacy group Close Don Dale Now, said she was disappointed by the NT government's focus on punitive measures to address crime.
"Locking people up just makes them hardcore criminals," she said.
"You've got to have a bit of heart, a bit of compassion. The stuff the CLP is doing is inhumane."
She pointed to nine reports examining corrections in the NT, including the 2016 Royal Commission into the Detention and Protection of Children in the Northern Territory.
The commission's final report recommended the closure of Don Dale Youth Detention Centre by early 2018.
"How many bloody reports do we need across the Northern Territory before we get it right?" Ms Hunter said.
"I'm not surprised [by the prison overcrowding] because no actions have been done to [fulfil] any of those recommendations in those reports.
"They've been left on the shelf with cobwebs and now we're in a state of dismay … [questioning] how we can solve the issues of youth crime."