Court cell blunder blamed on human error

Human error and a lack of clear communication led to a man accidentally being left in Masterton District Court’s cells for 48 hours, a police investigation has found.

The man, who has name suppression, was left without any food over a weekend in January after police forgot about him.

In a statement yesterday, Wairarapa Area Commander Donna Howard said the incident was regrettable. ‘‘I personally met with the man and his wife earlier this week to provide them with the outcome of the investigation and to formally apologise,’’ she said.

‘‘On this occasion we fell below the standards of service rightly expected of us and we have put steps in place to help ensure it does not occur again.’’

She said the investigation identified practices and procedures for improvement, resulting in more robust measures being put in place. ‘‘The lessons learnt . . . have been communicated with all staff across the area and we are doing all that we can to ensure this does not happen again,’’ she said.

‘‘I am confident that the measures now in place will prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future.’’

The incident occurred when the man, who had pleaded guilty to drink-driving, was being held in the cell while his bail conditions were typed up. It should have taken only 15 minutes, but he soon realised that court and police staff had gone home and left him on his own.

His cell was bare, with only a toilet, a tap, a concrete slab for a bed, and a shoe for a pillow.

Over the course of his ordeal, which lasted from Saturday morning until the following Monday, his only measure of time was by peering down a hallway to where a glimpse of light could be seen through a window.

At the time, Police Minister Paula Bennett called the blunder ‘‘unacceptable’’.

Lawyer Michael Bott said compensation was likely, although it would be impossible to guess just how much it would amount to. ‘‘New Zealand has seen a gradual erosion of compensation for Bill of Rights breaches over time,’’ he said. ‘‘It’s a case of short arms but deep pockets.’’