Report by the nsw state Coroner into deaths in custody/police operation
Role of Aboriginal Community Liaison Officers (“ACLOs”)
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Role of Aboriginal Community Liaison Officers (“ACLOs”)CJ gave evidence that he requested an ACLO at the time he was placed initially in the police wagon. This is denied by the relevant police officers. The significance of an ACLO's attendance at that point is said to be that CJ would have told him of RS’s identity. This would have assisted police to negotiate with RS, with or without the assistance of an ACLO. However, the following points need to be borne in mind:-
There is an understandable tendency when viewing tragedies in hindsight to look at alternative versions of facts and options which, had they been adopted, would have averted the tragedy. In this case, the presence of the ACLOs at the river has been viewed in that light. However, the Deputy State Coroner was not persuaded that their presence would necessarily have altered the outcome. CJ had no incentive to reveal his friend’s hiding place as long as he thought RS had a chance to escape. Similarly, RS had no incentive to come out of the water if he thought he could still elude police as he had in the past. If the ACLOs were not told by CJ of RS’s position in the willows so that they could talk to him at that time, there would not have been time for much persuasion once he had emerged and started moving downstream. That time frame has been estimated at around 5 minutes. Still, while there is no guarantee that their presence would have changed the outcome, counsel for the RS’s family, submitted that they ought to have been given the opportunity to persuade RS to come out of the river. It was considered as within the parameters of the inquest to ascertain what police policy said about the use of ACLOs in such situations. The documents available at inquest, although not necessarily in existence at the time of RS's death, were the position overview for the ACLO position, a document setting out the principal duties of an ACLO with examples, a document listing the activities not to be performed by ACLOs and a strategic plan designed to strengthen the relationship between police and the local aboriginal community generally. Additionally, oral evidence was heard from Mr T and Mr M, the two ACLOs based at Dubbo, and from Superintendent S who is in charge of the local ACLO program. Messrs. T and M considered that the present situation maximised flexibility at the expense of certainty and consistency. Each felt that their services could be better utilised if there were more guidelines available not only for their reference but for the police officers who were considering whether to request their assistance. Superintendent S, on the other hand, considered that the present documentation was adequate or, at least, would suffice until an internal police review into the role of ACLOs currently in progress had been concluded. He further stated that the situation in which police were engaged on a 16 September 2003 could be categorised as a foot pursuit leading to a potential arrest. The arrest of offenders was one of those activities specifically listed as not appropriate for ACLO involvement. Hence, according to Superintendent S, there was no role for ACLOs to perform at the river. The position is, however, somewhat clouded by the fact that Messrs T and M were able to give examples where their skills had been utilised in front line policing such as domestic disputes and other forms of negotiation. From listening to the evidence there do seem to be grey areas, ie. Uncertainty about how to interpret the policies in practice. It seems that ACLOs and police officers alike would benefit from more comprehensive guidelines that concentrated on practical examples to better define those grey areas. It was noted in this regard that there is increased training in cultural awareness for police officers at Dubbo and the Deputy State Coroner whole-heartedly endorsed those initiatives. Formal FindingRS died on 16 September 2003 by accidentally drowning in the Macquarie River at Dubbo, N.S.W. while attempting to elude police. RecommendationsDirectory: Documents Documents -> Concept stage Documents -> Concept stage Documents -> The great global switch-off Documents -> Nonprofit grant application Documents -> The Truth about the Rwandan Genocide Documents -> Annual InStructional unit plan Documents -> Chaos equipment included Download 0.8 Mb. Share with your friends:
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