Table 5 Cultural responses to risk and liability in police work
FIELD OBSERVATIONS “[I saw an] elderly detainee with Parkinson’s disease, on ropinirole medication [and an] indwelling urethral catheter [who had been] arrested on harassment charges. [The] nurse thinks that he has the catheter for the purpose of deriving sexual gratification [and] was unaware that ropinirole can cause sexual disinhibition. … [Nurse] continued to have the opinion that he was just a ‘nasty old man’.” (Field note in custody paras 1, 2 &3: 27 May 2012) “Detainees with multiple medical problems and a range of behaviourally disturbed presentations. Sergeants [were] keeping their cool. Voices were raised, and as a result the detainee’s voice is raised further and becomes more agitated. I suspect that a degree of frustration creeps in amongst the sergeants in these situations as they see a lot of this kind of presentation.” (Field note in custody para 1: 15 June 2012) “… [Detention officers] calling the detainee a ‘pain in the backside’. It is not difficult to sympathise with this point of view given the demands that are placed upon them by various detainees. However, it appears that they find it easy to ascribe behavioural disturbance to purely intrinsic factors but do not give consideration to any possible mitigating factors.” (Field note in custody para 1: 15 June 2012) | |
STAFF INTERVIEWS “[The] thing that worries me most is missing something - so for instance going home with that ‘Oh God’ feeling” (Male CO1) “If they’re just mentally ill but they’re not having a crisis, they have to be dealt with as normal. I have been told in the past by the Crisis Team, ‘Well, we won’t come out; send them to prison – send them to court in the morning. Let them sort it out from there’.” (Female nurse 1) “People will always hurt themselves. I used to go, ‘Well more fool them.’ But I think, as I’ve had this role, you then go, ‘You’ve got a responsibility to look after them’.” (Male CO3) “Everything was covered in the pilot; it was just covered in too many questions. …I just feel that we have created…more work for ourselves where we’re taking less chances…some (custody officers) will not take a single chance… you’ve lost half your staff because they’re dealing with the constant watch.” (Male CO2) | |
DETAINEE COMMENTS “Would like them to be more thorough about the state of mind. They should be more concerned. It’s like they don’t care.” (Male Detainee 2) “You see the nurse, tell them what the tablets are but you don’t get them. They don’t check on you.” (Female Detainee 284) “Didn’t like the way [the CO] judged me.’ You’re an alcoholic and crack and heroin addict.’ Think it messed my head up.” (Male Detainee 124) |