Custody Notification Scheme

The Custody Notification Schemes (CNS) is a 24-hour legal advice and support telephone hotline for any Australian Aboriginal person brought into custody, connecting them with lawyers from the Aboriginal Legal Service. It is intended to reduce the high number of Aboriginal deaths in custody by counteracting the effects of institutional racism.

A protest calling for reform to prevent Aboriginal deaths in custody.

The implementation of a CNS in all Australian states and territories was recommendation 224[1] of the 339 recommendations of the 1991 Australian Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody report. However, New South Wales (NSW) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) were the only state and territory to comply. About 340 Aboriginal people died in custody between the recommendation being made in 1991 and 2015.[2] Victoria has also implemented a CNS,[3] known as E* Justice Notifications.[4] As of 2017, only one Aboriginal person has died in custody in NSW or the ACT since the scheme was implemented.[5][6]

In May 2016, a report by Neil Morgan, Inspector of Custodial Services, recommended that Western Australia stop jailing people for unpaid fines. His report mentioned the death of Ms Dhu.[7] In October 2016 Nigel Scullion, the federal Minister for Indigenous Affairs, offered to fund the first three years of implementation for any state that legislated a CNS. The Western Australian government rejected the offer.[8] In March 2017, Dhu's family criticised both the major political parties in Western Australia for not supporting such a scheme. The incumbent Liberal Party voiced their opposition to the program, while the Labor Party said they would consider the scheme though had made no commitments. The Labor Party did voice its support for the end of jailing people for unpaid fines.[6]

In October 2017, the Australian federal government was reported to be urging states and territories to implement a CNS. Attorney-General of Western Australia John Quigley supported such a program, saying "I think it [is] life-saving legislation. I'm sure if they took the late Ms Dhu into custody ... if the Aboriginal Legal Service [had] been contacted on day one it would have been a very different outcome." An online petition calling for the scheme was signed by almost 20,000 people in less than one week.[5]

On 21 May 2018, it was announced that the WA state government had reconsidered the offer from the federal government to fund a CNS, and that the service would be operational by the end of the year. The Aboriginal Legal Service of Western Australia will operate the service.[9][10][11] As of 29 August the system has not been implemented due to inadequate funding, though negotiations for funding were ongoing, with John Quigley saying he hoped the service would be operational soon.[12]

As of August 2018, the Northern Territory has agreed to implement a CNS, though other states had not. Representatives from South Australian and Queensland argued they already had their own adequate systems in place, while Tasmania said they were considering the system though had not made a decision. Victoria is expected to be the next state to introduce a CNS.[12]

References

  1. ↑ "Towards Social Justice? An Issues Paper". austlii.edu.au. Retrieved 18 May 2018.
  2. ↑ Wahlquist, Calla (5 December 2015). "Family re-live pain as Ms Dhu inquest searches for answers over death in custody". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 7 April 2018.
  3. ↑ "WA adopts custody hotline in wake of Dhu". National Indigenous Times. May 30, 2018. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018.
  4. ↑ "Criminal Law | VALS". vals.org.au. Retrieved 21 June 2018.
  5. 1 2 Higgins, Isabella (11 October 2017). "States urged to back 'life-saving' policy to prevent Indigenous deaths in custody". ABC News. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018.
  6. 1 2 Wahlquist, Calla (9 March 2017). "Indigenous groups criticise Liberals and Labor in WA over custody policies". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018.
  7. ↑ Turner, Rebecca (20 May 2016). "Scrapping jail for fine defaulters will not tackle WA prison overcrowding, report finds". ABC News. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018.
  8. ↑ Wahlquist, Calla (20 September 2017). "Ms Dhu's family gets $1.1m payment and state apology over death in custody". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 8 April 2018.
  9. ↑ "WA adopts custody hotline in wake of Dhu". National Indigenous Times. May 30, 2018. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018.
  10. ↑ Coade, Melissa (4 June 2018). "WA's new 24-hour welfare line to reduce Aboriginal deaths in custody". Lawyer's Weekly. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018.
  11. ↑ Langford, Sam (22 May 2018). "WA Is Finally Taking Steps To Help Prevent Indigenous Deaths In Custody". Junkee. Archived from the original on 20 June 2018.
  12. 1 2 Wahlquist, Call; Allam, Lorena (August 29, 2018). "States failing to take up lifesaving phone service for Indigenous prisoners". Guardian Australia. Archived from the original on August 29, 2018.
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