Police Responsibilies for Management of Women in Custody (From Women in the Prison System - Proceedings, P 207-220, 1984, Suzanne Hatty, ed. See NCJ-98278)

• NCJ Number: 98286
• Author(s): C R Hodges
• Date Published: 1984
• Length: 14 pages
• Sale Source: Australian Institute of Criminology
• Language: English
• Country: Australia

Annotation

The responsibilities of police for the management of women in custody in New South Wales, Australia, is examined with an emphasis on Section 4 of the Prisons Act of 1952 which makes no distinction between male and female prisoners.

Abstract

Police in charge of police stations are directed to ensure prisoners are properly searched and fingerprinted. When a female is detained at a police station, the officer in charge takes steps to ensure that there are no grounds for complaint and that the directions for searching the prisoner are strictly followed. In instances when bail has not been granted to the female prisoner, a female officer should act as an escort, except when only a short distance is involved. In all cases, police in charge of police stations or lockups have the specific duty to take steps that ensure that male and female prisoners are kept apart. Suitable accommodations within police stations for female prisoners have been recommended. Statistical data on the percentages of females in relation to the total number of offenders indicates that there has been an increased from 11.1 percent in 1975 to 14 percent in 1982. In addition, the number of females involved in drug offenses has increased by 61.3 percent. The additional hiring of women for the police force is recommended. Tabular data are presented.