Deaths in custody: still no action

September 22, 1993
Issue 

By Ignatius Kim

The national and international attention focused on the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody in the late 1980s would have convinced many that these abuses would not recur.

Yet, since May 30, 1989 — the cut-off date for the inquiries — there have been 47 Aboriginal deaths in custody, at a rate approximately equal to that in the period investigated by the royal commission.

None of the key recommendations of the commission have been implemented consistently by all states, if at all.

For instance, Recommendation 92 of the final report advises "that imprisonment should be utilised only as a sanction of last resort".

Chris Cunneen of the University of Sydney Law Faculty has been independently monitoring black deaths in custody. He has compiled figures showing that between June 1987 and June 1991, during the inquiry period, the national Aboriginal imprisonment rate rose by 25%. In NSW and Victoria, the figures were 80% and 75% respectively.

"Even now there's well over double the number of Aboriginal people in jail in NSW that there was in the late 1980s", Cunneen told Green Left Weekly.

Between 1988 and 1992, there was a 13% increase in Aboriginal arrests in NSW, far higher than any other state.

This is directly related to three key factors. The reintroduction of the Summary Offences Act 1988 has caused a dramatic rise in the number of charges for offensive behaviour and language. The International Commission of Jurists Australian Section has revealed that the majority of these charges relating to Aborigines were begun by arrest, not summons, despite Recommendation 87(a) that "all police services should adopt and apply the principle of arrest being the sanction of last resort in dealing with offenders".

Secondly, harsh changes to the NSW Crimes Act in 1988 have raised penalties for a number of offences. Under certain circumstances, car theft now carries a 10 year sentence.

Thirdly, the impact of the NSW Sentencing Act 1989 has been an increase of 19% in prison time served.

"It's part of a broader push to use a more punitive approach in the criminal justice system. That's impacted particularly on indigenous people, given their specific status in Australian society", said Cunneen.

NSW has emerged as the major problem state. It has had the majority of the 47 Aboriginal deaths since May 1989. Four of the seven deaths last year took place in NSW.

Contrary to Recommendation 79, public drunkenness is still an offence in Queensland, Victoria and Tasmania.

Sixty-one-year-old Daphne Armstrong died after being taken into custody in Brisbane in May 1992 for this offence.

"A subsequent autopsy in that particular case showed that she hadn't consumed any alcohol whatsoever", said Cunneen. "So it's quite clear that in certain cases public drunkenness laws are being used in a punitive way against Aboriginal people as an excuse for incarceration."

James Sailor, who died in July 1989, had been in the Townsville lock-up on 34 previous occasions for drunkenness, while Dennis Seaton was in the Townsville watch-house for the fourth night in a row for that offence when he died in August 1989.

Notorious incidents of police racism occurring some time after the royal commission, such as that seen in the documentary Cop it sweet and the video footage of Queensland police officers mocking the death of Lloyd Boney, indicate that not much has changed in police-Aboriginal relations.

Forty-four-year-old Marlene Tomachy was thrown into a police van and was found unconscious the next morning in Queensland's Palm Island watch-house in November 1991. She died of head injuries.

Wesley Patten, a field officer with the Redfern Aboriginal Legal Service, spoke of his experiences of police racism.

"I've been pulled over in my car a lot of times. They say it's because you're young, but you know it's because of your colour.

"A lot of the racism happens when you're in a police station — smart remarks and that sort of thing. On the streets they try to hide it, but it's still there.

"I've been pulled up by one cop who told me to 'go back to Redfern with all the other scum'."

Patten doesn't see much being done to implement Recommendation 60 dealing with police racism.

"While there are a few good cops who're helpful, they're only a few individuals, so it doesn't look like there's much effort to do anything about it.

"I hear a lot of complaints of police racism from Aboriginal people, but they won't go through with it in court because they don't want to waste their time. They say, 'Oh no, there's no way you'll beat them with their own system'.

"It's just the way a lot of cops are: they pinch Aboriginal people for little things, like little alcohol charges, just to lock them up."

Chris Cunneen's research demonstrates a shift in the location of the majority of custodial deaths from police cells to prisons. Compounding the greater use of imprisonment is the failure to implement recommendations relating to prison conditions.

For instance, despite the importance of support services for Aboriginal prisoners acknowledged by the royal commission, workers from organisations like the South Australian Aboriginal Community Recreation and Health Service, the Nyoongah Alcohol and Substance Abuse Service in WA and the Aboriginal Medical Service in Sydney are often harassed by prison authorities.

In the case of Mark Nichols, the Prison Medical Service refused to inform the Long Bay placement committee of its psychiatric assessment that Nichols should not be transferred anywhere except to Parramatta Jail. Nor did it pass on its assessment of Nichols as a suicide risk, therefore not to be placed in a single cell, to staff at Parklea prison.

Although Recommendation 36 of the interim report advises that medical records accompany a prisoner transferred to other institutions, Raymond Bonny's files did not accompany him to Modbury hospital. This led to a wrong diagnosis of his condition which contributed to his death.

To the recommendation that prison authorities aid Aboriginal support groups forming within institutions, the WA Department of Corrective Services gave its support with the following qualification:

"... the department is wary of the formation of groups whose agenda, hidden or otherwise, may be related to the pursuit of socio-political ends such as prisoner rights or lobbying in support of either internal or external political and social causes. The department is of the opinion that such activities may serve to prejudice the good order and management of the prison."

In response to Recommendation 5 of the final report, the federal government allocated $1.98 million for counselling to families of those who died in custody.

However, according to the National Committee to Defend Black Rights (NCDBR), "The funds are being absorbed into administration and in many cases reallocated to police training, mental health and everything but counselling".

Maurice Walker, the chairperson of NCDBR, is angry at this continuing injustice: "A lot of the states have just been sitting on that money. None of the families have ever been consulted about its use. It's just a farce.

"We're planning to have another National Family Counselling and Consultation Conference once we secure the money to establish our control over it. We're also calling for an independent monitoring body to oversee the implementation of the [royal commission] recommendations.

"To hear that after the royal commission the deaths are still continuing is, to say the least, an emotional strain, especially for those who fought to get the commission started."

You need Green Left, and we need you!

Green Left is funded by contributions from readers and supporters. Help us reach our funding target.

Make a One-off Donation or choose from one of our Monthly Donation options.

Become a supporter to get the digital edition for $5 per month or the print edition for $10 per month. One-time payment options are available.

You can also call 1800 634 206 to make a donation or to become a supporter. Thank you.