NCJ Number
182607
Date Published
March 2000
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This 1999 survey of defendants in Queensland, Australia, indicated that there was measurable improvement in police treatment of suspects since the survey was last conducted in 1996.
Abstract
The 1999 survey involved interviews with defendants appearing before eight large magistrate courts in Queensland. A team of trained interviewers worked between May and July 1999 to obtain the survey sample. About 70 percent of those approached agreed to be interviewed, and the final sample included 1,005 completed questionnaires. The proportion of respondents who said they had concerns about police treatment, about 50 percent, was much the same as in 1996. However, more respondents in the 1999 survey had favorable comments on how they were treated by police. Fewer respondents alleged they had been the subject of police assault, rudeness, or verbal abuse and indicated police had informed them about their rights. In addition, fewer respondents suggested ways in which their treatment by police could have been improved. The majority of respondents in the 1999 survey who were subjected to a personal or a property search reported they were satisfied with how the search was conducted. Most respondents who were not happy with the way they were treated by police said they had not made a formal complaint. Between 1996 and 1999, willingness to complain appeared to have declined. Implications of the survey findings are discussed. 3 references and 8 tables