12 February 2007

Ombudsman to take a look at ACT watch houses

| johnboy
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The AFP and the Commonwealth Ombudsman have announced the ombudsman is going to be having a look over the way police watch houses are managed in the ACT.

The review will examine:
• the policies and procedures applicable to watch house operations
• guidelines available to watch house staff
• training and supervision of AFP members working in the watch house
• functioning of the closed circuit television networks
• the use of force and physical restraints
• assessment, identification and subsequent treatment of persons with special needs
• watch house records and videotapes to determine how effectively procedures are implemented in practice
• oversight, supervision and management of watch house staff.

The review is expected to be complete in April and they promise to make the report public.

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The Ombudsman had enough teeth to leave an impression on Amanda Vanstone.

VYBerlinaV8_now with_added_grunt1:13 pm 12 Feb 07

What will be interesting to see is whether they assess against publicly available standards, or against security classified guidance. It will be difficult (ie won’t happen) to make public a report that (a) contains classified information, and (b) identifies potential weaknesses in the way police watch houses operate.

This is a good story to keep a sharp eye on, I think.

the c’wealth ombudsman are more teethless than the ACT Policing mob. We may as well have granda simpson flinging poo at the comic boo man.

VYBerlinaV8_now with_added_grunt11:20 am 12 Feb 07

Is there any information about the standards or processes that each of these areas is going to be reviewed against? Or do they simply attempt a risk assessment for each part?

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