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Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander viewers are advised that this website contains the names and images of people who have passed
42
Regular publication of data about people in police cells
That governments require the provision of and publish, on a regular and frequent basis, detailed information on the numbers and details of the people passing through their police cells.
Aboriginal Justice Caucus Assessment
Recommendation 42 was intended to Improve the collection and publication of demographic information on people in police cells.
No actions have been taken that align with the intent of Recommendation 42, as data is not regularly published about police cells. While this information was produced at part of the National Police Custody surveys, the last survey for which data was published was over twenty years ago in 2002. There is also no evidence in the Crimes Act 2014 or otherwise of government requirements to provide the relevant information.
We previously raised concerns with Victoria Police about the lack of information on people held in police cells. While some data has been provided in response to these concerns it does not provide detailed demographic and other information (location, gender, age, reasons for being in custody etc) on the number of people passing through police cells.
Regular publication of data about people in police cells means our communities are better informed and can act to address relevant issues. We need accurate and timely data from Victoria Police.
Priority for Further Work:
High
Relevance and potential impact | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Low (0-2) | Moderate (3-4) | High (5-6) | |||
Extent of action taken and evidence of outcomes | High (5-6) | ||||
Moderate (3-4) | |||||
Low (0-2) | |||||
Potential Actions for Further Work
Regular publication of data about people in police custody
That Victoria Police improve collection and publication of information about people held in police custody, that identifies how many people are going in and out of police cells, why people are placed in custody, the types of offences associated with police custody, the length of time that people are in police custody, bail outcomes, rates of self-harm and other serious or medical incidents, and whether these patterns change over time.
(This would help to fully implement RCIADIC recommendations 12, 42, and 242 as well as support evaluation of the decriminalisation of public intoxication, monitoring of changes to bail laws (RCIADIC Recommendation 89) and completion of AJA4 commitments.)
Background
The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) emphasised that it is essential that all jurisdictions have available, on an ongoing basis, detailed information on the people being held in police cells. This information was not being collected by police forces at the time of the Royal Commission.
Actions Taken Since Last Review
Commonwealth Government
Data on the number and details of people in police cells are not routinely published or made publicly available, although this information has been produced for specific reports and inquiries as required.
While statistics relating to people held in prisons are routinely produced, the scope of these collections does not generally include people held in police cells.
Crime Statistics Agency
The Crime Statistics Agency (CSA) recorded crime collection includes all offences that are reported to and detected by Victoria Police and recorded on the Law Enforcement Assistance Program (LEAP) database. Data on police custody information are not available to the CSA.
AJA4 commits to improve Aboriginal justice data, although this does not specifically refer to data on people passing through police cells but could include it. Justice agencies commit to work together with the outcome to increase Aboriginal community ownership of and access to data.
AJA4 also contains an Aboriginal Justice Indicators data dashboard the provides a range of data and information about interactions between Aboriginal people and police.
Additionally, AJA4 included a commitment to develop legislation for the requirement of a Custodial Notification Service so that Aboriginal organisations are notified when an Aboriginal person is taken into custody. This legislation came into operation on 1 October 2019.
Victoria Police
Victoria Police considers the mandating of this provision to be a matter for government and notes that police custody data is owned by DJCS. However, Victoria Police regularly complies with requests to produce police custody data, including reports provided to the Aboriginal Justice Forum (AJF). These reports include detailed information on the numbers of people held in police cells.
Impact
Outcomes
The Act is focused on crime data. The Chief Statistician (and Crime Statistics Agency) do not receive or publish information on the number and details of people passing through police cells. This information is not published on a regular or frequent basis as required by Recommendation 42.
Community Views
Aboriginal Justice Caucus
AJC have previously raised concerns with Victoria Police about the lack of information on Aboriginal people in police cells and incidents, such as self-harm that may occur while they are there. These concerns were particularly pronounced during the coronavirus pandemic where measures introduced to protect the health of individuals and prevent transmission, exacerbated the impacts of isolation on people held in custody.
Victoria Police
In response to the AJC’s concerns, Victoria Police provided to the Aboriginal Justice Forum (AJF 63, December 2022) data on the numbers and percentages of person who had identified as Aboriginal when in police custody from when the system of self-harm recording commenced in October 2019 to 30 September 2022. Numbers are calculated on a daily basis, therefore if an individual is in custody for more than one day, they are counted more than once. The data also captures the number of recorded incidents of self-harm in police custody during the period.
Victoria Police indicated that this information will be provided on an ongoing basis to the Aboriginal Justice Forum.