Deaths in custody: still no action
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.''