The failure to bring prisoners to court because remand cells are at capacity is outrageous and beyond a joke, a Melbourne magistrate says.
Hells Angels sergeant-at-arms Peter "Skitzo" Hewat was due to appear in the Melbourne Magistrates Court on Tuesday, but his case was adjourned when he was not brought to the building.
A number of other criminal matters have also been delayed in recent weeks because the court's police cells are operating at capacity.
Magistrate Ged Lethbridge said the situation was unacceptable.
"This is getting to be so far beyond a joke," he said.
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"For the executive branch of government to ignore court orders is absolutely staggering ... it's just outrageous."
Costs have recently been awarded against Corrections Victoria in cases where prisoners have not been brought to court.
A Corrections Victoria spokesman told AAP the department was in the process of delivering one of the largest prisoner capacity increases in the state's history.
He said temporary accommodation was being created at prisons to help ease the backlog, and the department would try to have prisoners appear via videolink where possible.
The Victorian County Court last week began hosting magistrates court sessions in an effort to free up more space in custody.
Deputy police commissioner Tim Cartwright said the high number of people in custody was due to more arrests being made, as well as police targeting bikie gangs and people who breach parole.
"Police have also focused on recidivist offenders and targeted high-crime areas," he told AAP.
"In recent months we have had to roster additional police to our larger police stations to mitigate the risks and ensure safe custody supervision."
Mr Cartwright said police would work with the courts to resolve the issue.
