The Queensland Police Union says outdated and ineffective corrections procedures are contributing to severe overcrowding in police watch houses across the state, following the death of a prisoner in custody in Maryborough. The 30-year-old man died in January after being transferred from the Maryborough watch house to Hervey Bay Hospital, where doctors were treating him for drugs concealed inside his body. He had been held in police custody for five days, despite return-to-prison warrants requiring that prisoners be transferred to correctional facilities as soon as practicable. Shane Prior said the man should have been taken directly to a nearby high-security prison equipped with medical services and drug-screening facilities. He argued that the failure to transfer prisoners promptly places both detainees and police officers at increased risk. The case has intensified scrutiny of Queensland’s custodial system, with the Queensland Coroner's Court now investigating the circumstances surrounding the death. The union is calling for urgent reform to reduce overcrowding and ensure prisoners receive appropriate medical care in correctional facilities rather than police watch houses.