NCJ Number
137950
Journal
Australian and New Zealand Journal of Criminology Volume: 24 Issue: 3 Dated: (December 1991) Pages: 190-203
Date Published
1991
Length
14 pages
Annotation
During August 1988, the National Police Custody Survey collected data on each occasion that a person was held in a police cell anywhere in Australia in order to provide information on the size and composition of the police cell population.
Abstract
The National Police Custody Survey was conducted as part of a comprehensive criminal justice research program in which the full cooperation of Australia's eight police forces was essential. The 15-item questionnaire was structured to make its completion as quick and simple as possible for police officers and to maximize the likelihood of its being completed accurately. Survey results revealed that 28,566 police custody incidents occurred during August 1988 that involved 23,877 separate individuals. Aboriginal people made up almost 29 percent of the total, having a custody rate 27 times that of non-Aboriginal people. Public drunkenness was the most frequent reason for custody, accounting for 35 percent of cases. The median length of time in police cells was 5.9 hours. Extrapolating the 28,566 police custody incidents in August for the entire 1988 year resulted in an estimated 336,000 occasions of police custody. 15 references and 5 tables (Author abstract modified)