Woman left all alone in court cell

A woman was left alone in a court cell after being forgotten about by police staff, only being found by a cleaner six hours later, a report has found.

An Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) investigation into the incident found the woman’s unnecessary wait in the New Plymouth District Court cell, while police completed paperwork for her bail bond, was the result of human error and staff not following proper procedure.

The IPCA report said the woman had appeared in court for a driving-related offence on December 6, 2017.

After her hearing she had to sign a new bail bond and was taken into police custody, awaiting the completion of paperwork by court staff.

The woman was due to pick her young children up at 2pm, and was only released after she was found by a cleaner who phoned the court security firm, who then contacted the New Plymouth police.

By this time it was almost 6pm and she had been in the cell since midday.

The IPCA found one of the officers did not follow proper procedure before leaving the court cells, which led to the woman being unlawfully and arbitrarily detained.

The officer, who had worked in this area many times in her 20-year policing career, did not follow the correct policy and acknowledged it.

‘‘If I had followed procedure, [the woman] would have been noticed and not left locked in a cell,’’ the officer was quoted as saying in the IPCA report.

The IPCA accepted the officer’s error, although unacceptable, was accidental and unintentional. However, it also found police custody staff were not generally following police policy and procedure for prisoners being received at the New Plymouth District Court cells.

It determined that, given the limited space and personnel at many courts, it was common practice for those summoned to appear in court to be placed in police custody following hearings, awaiting bail documentation.

Given that court staff generally complete this process promptly, the authority considered that it was both impractical and unnecessary for individuals, who have attended court of their own accord and were typically compliant, to be subject to exactly the same receiving and evaluation process as detainees who have been remanded in custody to await trial or sentencing.

In the report, authority chair Judge Doherty formally recommended that the Commissioner of Police review policy relating to prisoners being held in court cells awaiting bail documentation.

Doherty said wherever practicable such individuals should await their paperwork in a bail room rather than be taken into police custody. When not practicable, and people were detained in police custody, the required steps set out in the current policy should be amended to reflect the practicalities of the court.

In an emailed statement Taranaki area commander Inspector Keith Borrell said police accepted the IPCA findings.

‘‘This happened as a result of human error,’’ Borrell said.

‘‘The officer involved acknowledged the mistake and police sent a written apology to the woman. This incident should not have occurred and changes have been made as a result.’’

Borrell said police conducted a review of the policy and had adopted Doherty’s recommendations.