A dramatic courtroom escape that sparked a five-day man hunt has triggered criticism of a justice system's use of private security.
A 44-year-old bikie went on the run after jumping the dock and evading G4S private security guards at Darwin Local Court on Friday, fleeing on foot through the city's CBD.
He was tracked down five days later by a dog squad following a tip-off after fleeing into bushland south of Darwin.
The Northern Territory government has come under fire for hiring G4S to manage inmate escorts and transfers in a bid to take pressure off prison officers.
The incident highlighted the risk to the community's safety of outsourcing public sector jobs, the Community and Public Sector Union said.
"Taxpayers have every right to question whether this is the best way forward given it's their money paying for these expensive private security companies," the union's NT regional secretary Suwan Adamson said in a statement.
