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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.
We urgently need accurate and timely data from Victoria Police on people in police cells so we can better support people in custody, ensure our communities are better informed and hold Victoria Police to account.
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, time spent in custody, bail outcomes, medical or self-harm incidents etc.) about people passing through police cells.
Two decades ago, the 2005 Review recommended that Victoria Police regularly provide detailed information on the numbers and experiences of Aboriginal people held in police cells to government and the Aboriginal Justice Forum. Similar recommendations about improving the collection and reporting of data on people in police cells were made in the Parliamentary Inquiry into Victoria’s Criminal Justice System in 2021 and the Inquest into the Passing of Veronica Nelson in 2023.
We urgently need accurate and timely data from Victoria Police on people in police cells so we can better support people in custody, ensure our communities are better informed and hold Victoria Police to account.
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, 89 and 242, support evaluation of the decriminalisation of public intoxication and monitoring of changes to bail laws).
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.
The fourth phase of the Victorian Aboriginal Justice Agreement (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 committed to working together with the outcome to increase Aboriginal community ownership of and access to data.
AJA4 also contains an Aboriginal Justice Indicators data dashboard (Aboriginal justice indicators) that 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 the Victorian Aboriginal Legal Service must be notified when an Aboriginal person is taken into custody. This legislation came into operation on 1 October 2019.
Victoria Police
In their 2023 response, Victoria Police assessed this recommendation as ‘not for Victoria Police’. Victoria Police consider the mandating of this provision to be a matter for government and note that police custody data is owned by the Department of Justice and Community Safety. However, Victoria Police regularly comply 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
Victoria Police
In response to concerns raised by the Aboriginal Justice Caucus (AJC), Victoria Police provided to the Aboriginal Justice Forum (AJF 63, December 2022) data on the number and proportion of Aboriginal people in police custody during 2022. This was drawn from Victoria Police data capturing recorded incidents of self-harm in police custody, with the extract covering October 2019 to September 2022. Numbers were calculated on a daily basis, therefore if an individual was in custody for more than one day, they were counted more than once.
Outcomes
The Crime Statistics Act 2014 (Vic) 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 basis as required by Recommendation 42.
Victoria Police provided 2022 custody and self-harm data to the AJF and indicated that this information would be provided on an ongoing basis, but this has not occurred.
Community Views
Aboriginal Justice Caucus
The AJC 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.