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This recommendation is assigned to CSNSW.
That unless the State Coroner, or the Coroner appointed to conduct the inquiry, directs otherwise, and in writing, the family of the deceased or their representative should have a right to view the body, to view the scene of death, to have an independent observer at any post-mortem that is authorised to be conducted by the Coroner, to engage an independent medical practitioner to be present at the post-mortem or to conduct a further post-mortem, and to receive a copy of the post-mortem report. If the Coroner directs otherwise, a copy of the direction should be sent to the family and to the Aboriginal Legal Service.
The Royal Commission noted the importance of allowing relatives to view the body of the deceased person shortly after death to, in some cases, alleviate distress and suspicion. This should be at the choice of the family either directly or through a representative. At 4.6.17 the Royal Commission noted the concerns about forensic contamination and suggested procedures to mitigate. Recommendation 25 is directed at ensuring families have appropriate access to the deceased’s body, scene and postmortem following a death in custody. This recommendation is directed more broadly than just at CSNSW.
CSNSW have procedures in place which allow the family to view the scene of death and to conduct religious and cultural ceremonies on site, including smoking ceremonies.
Custodial Operations Policy & Policy (COPP) section 13.3 Death in Custody; section 6.6 ‘Inspection of the scene by family and their representatives’ states that The Coroner or police officer in charge may grant a family’s request to inspect the coronial investigation scene. If a request is granted, the Governor may give approval to the
following persons to inspect the scene under supervision of police or an officer from the Office of the NSW State Coroner:
At section 6.7 Religious and cultural ceremonies on site, the Governor may permit the deceased’s family to conduct a religious or cultural ceremony at the place of death. As far as is practicable, the place of death must remain secure until arrangements can be made for the ceremony to take place. If the deceased inmate was Aboriginal, the family may be permitted to undertake a smoking ceremony and bring flora into the centre for that purpose. If there are any operational issues with facilitating a ceremony, then the Governor must liaise with the Director of the Aboriginal Strategy Directorate.
Section 6.8 ‘Protocol for family attendance at scene’ explains that a suitable time must be negotiated with the family to allow them access to the incident scene giving consideration to the operations of the correctional centre. During this inspection, there must be no communication between any of the correctional centre’s inmates and members of the family or their legal representatives.
The family and their legal representatives must be informed of this prior to the inspection or ceremony.
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We acknowledge Aboriginal people as the First Nations Peoples of NSW and pay our respects to Elders past, present, and future.
Informed by lessons of the past, Department of Communities and Justice is improving how we work with Aboriginal people and communities. We listen and learn from the knowledge, strength and resilience of Stolen Generations Survivors, Aboriginal Elders and Aboriginal communities.
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