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125
Screening forms as routine for reception into police custody
That in all jurisdictions a screening form be introduced as a routine element in the reception of persons into police custody. The effectiveness of such forms and of procedures adopted with respect to the completion of such should be evaluated in the light of the experience of the use of such forms in other jurisdictions.
Whilst it is the Victorian Police Manual Rules, Victorian Police Manual Guidelines and Standard Operating Procedures that are the standard against which to assess police compliance, the RCIADIC recommendations suggest the current standards could be both revised and strengthened. Compliance may improve if the requirements were at one reference point.
Aboriginal Justice Caucus Assessment
The intent of Recommendation 125 was for all jurisdictions to introduce a screening form for routine use when a person is taken into police custody, and for the completion of these screening forms to be evaluated over time.
In their 2023 response to this recommendation, Victoria Police stated that a Detainee Risk Assessment is completed for all persons entering police custody, despite the Victoria Police Manual rules only requiring it if a person is in custody for over four hours.
While recognising that screening forms including a medical checklist and the Detainee Risk Assessment process have been put in place, we determined that the actions taken don’t fully align with this recommendation’s intent. During the Inquest into the Death of Tanya Day, Coroner English found that the RCIADIC recommendations related to initial risk assessment at the police watch house, ‘proscribe a greater scrutiny for detainees than that in the Victorian Police Manual Rules, Victorian Police Manual Guidelines and Castlemaine Police Station Standard Operating Procedures.’ She also identified that the standards operating at that time (2020) could be ‘both revised and strengthened’, noting that ‘compliance may improve if the requirements were at one reference point’.
While screening forms and processes have been created, we remain concerned that there is not a mandatory requirement for them to be conducted as soon as a person is taken into police custody, and there is no accountability back to community to know whether the screenings are completed a timely, consistent and compliant way.
I’d like to see it punched into a computer . . . where a time frame is attached to the actual report, and that way they can’t muck around with it. We just need them [Victoria Police] to be accountable. (Marion Hansen, Co-chairperson, AJC and Chairperson, Southern Metropolitan RAJAC)
It is unclear the extent to which compliance with the use of screening forms upon reception into police custody is monitored or evaluated by Victoria Police. There is no evidence to suggest that the effectiveness of the checklist is regularly evaluated.
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
Mandate Victoria Police Manual Guidelines - Safe Management of Persons in Police Care of Custody
Mandate the Victorian Police Manual Guideline requirements for assessment against the Medical Checklist and application of the Coma Scale.
Random compliance audits to enhance accountability
Conduct random audits to provide greater insight on the extent of compliance with the Victoria Police Manual Rules and Guidelines and any relevant Standard Operating Procedures.
Background
The Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody (RCIADIC) found that poor assessment of detainees’ physical and mental health was a recurring issue, both at intake and during custody. Contributing factors included unclear responsibilities, inadequate general and specialised training (e.g. for illness, intoxication, and self-harm), and a lack of effective systems to record and share information about detainees’ vulnerabilities, leading to missed warning signs.
If prisoner assessment is carried out in a thorough and professional way, those 'at risk' may be identified at an early stage and steps taken to reduce the likelihood of the death occurring. Timing is essential. It has been clearly established that the period immediately following placement in a cell is the most crucial. It is thus critical that no person be placed in a cell without being properly assessed.
By 1991, the RCIADIC noted some progress, with revised police procedures placing greater emphasis on assessing detainees’ physical and mental health at intake and clarifying officer responsibilities. Improvements included the use of screening forms, better training to identify at-risk individuals, and more thorough record-keeping, reflecting increased awareness among custodial staff of ‘the duties owed by them to those taken into custody.’
Assessment procedures
Screening of detainees was to focus on five key factors: external injuries, serious medical conditions, mental health, intoxication, and level of consciousness. Police were expected to make preliminary assessments (not a diagnosis) based on available information and observation, continually monitor detainees, actively inquire about medical needs, and seek medical assistance whenever there was any doubt about a person’s condition.
The assessment expected is that of a responsible layman assisted by some training and instructions.
Screening Forms
By the time of the Final Report, screening forms had been introduced across several states, but not Victoria. The NSW model was considered the most effective due to its detailed content and supporting training. These forms helped officers identify at-risk detainees, create written records, share information, and assess a person’s condition through interaction and observation. The report emphasised that proper training and ongoing monitoring were essential to ensure the forms’ effectiveness.
Actions Taken Since Last Review
Victoria Police
In 2023 Victoria Police assessed Recommendation 125 as fully implemented, noting the electronic Detainee Risk Assessment (DRA) is mandatory and completed for all persons entering police custody. It automatically notifies qualified nurses staffing the Custodial Health Advice Line (which operates 24 hour per day, 7 days a week) of all persons in custody and their medical risks. A new assessment must be completed again if there is a significant change in circumstances.
Custody Policy Review
In 2024–25, Victoria Police consulted the Aboriginal Justice Caucus (AJC) on draft custody policies. The AJC raised concerns about health assessments and monitoring detainees in custody, including in-person checks when a person is sleeping. They recommended: making health assessment guidelines (such as the Medical Checklist and Coma Scale) mandatory; ensuring earlier completion of the Detainee Risk Assessment (as the policy requires it to be undertaken for a person ‘held in custody for more than four hours’); and more frequent checks—especially within the first four hours of custody, when risk is highest.
Victoria Police accepted the first recommendation, introducing a mandatory Coma Scale Assessment Tool for all detainees, with required reassessments where a person is transferred or their care is ‘handed over’ to another officer, and record-keeping. However, they did not adopt the second recommendation, maintaining that a Detention Risk Assessment (DRA) be completed as soon as possible or after four hours, though they may consider specifying that the DRA be undertaken as soon as someone is lodged in a cell in a future policy update.
Impact
Outputs
Victoria Police
For over twenty years, Victoria Police have been required to complete a medical checklist when a person is received into custody. Currently, the electronic Detainee Risk Assessment (DRA) is mandatory and completed for all persons entering police custody. The DRA automatically notifies nurses staffing the Custodial Health Advice Line of all persons in custody and their medical risks. A new assessment must be completed if there is a significant change in circumstances.
Outcomes
Coroners Court of Victoria
In the inquest into the death of Yorta Yorta woman, Tanya Day, the Deputy State Coroner noted that the RCIADIC stressed the importance of comprehensive initial risk assessments in custody to identify individuals at risk of suicide or illness. These recommendations set a higher standard than Victoria Police policies and procedures at that time. While existing manuals provided guidance, Coroner English indicated that these standards should be strengthened and consolidated into a single, clear reference point to improve compliance.
Victoria Police
The Detainee Risk Assessment is continually reviewed and amended as required. For example, within two weeks of the first wave of COVID-19, the screening questions were changed to reflect the Chief Health Officer guidelines.