Victoria appears set to overhaul its Emergency Detention Orders, which could allow for criminals to be held for seven days without charge and without necessarily having broken the law.

The new emergency powers are part of a $390 million overhaul of how the state handle’s its highest-risk offenders, News Corp reports.

The new powers include the creation of two new prison units.

One unit will be for those deemed unfit for release at the end of their jail terms while the other is for inmates posing a security threat within the corrections system.

Under the new orders, prisoners convicted of murder, manslaughter, child homicide and other serious violent offences could be put on supervision orders similar to those which apply to sex fiends.

Any offenders on extended supervision orders could also be arrested under new Emergency Detention Orders if they pose an “imminent risk” and locked up for a week.

The criminals would not need to have broken the law or have breached the conditions of their release to be arrested under the new EDOs.