Inappropriate treatment by law enforcement
My mother in law discovered the body of her son. He had hung himself at home. The police were notified and attended. The officers began to question Mum. Mum, in her 70's, poor health,recent bowel surgery, cooperated as she could in her highly traumatised condition. She interrupted the questioning, asking to use the bathroom facilities. She was denied. Several more requests were made, until she soiled herself. She was further denied permission to clean herself up, and was detained further until officers deemed they had the information required. The perverse insolence shown toward an innocent woman whose life was clearly being turned upside down is abhorrent in nature. Is there anything I can do?
Hi there. Formal complaints can be lodged against police. You can complain about the conduct of one or more officers of the Western Australia Police by completing an online complaint form at www.police.wa.gov.au or contacting your nearest police station. You can also lodge a complaint with Police Complaints by phoning (08) 9223 1000, emailing police.complaints.administration.centre@police.wa.gov.au or writing to ‘Police Complaints’, Locked Bag 6, East Perth WA 6892.
In your complaint, you should include as much detail about the incident as possible, such as the date, time, location, a description of the incident, the name and badge number of each officer involved (if possible), and the details of any witnesses. WA Police will assess your complaint and may respond in a variety of ways, depending on the nature of the complaint.
If you are not satisfied with the outcome of your complaint, you can take the matter further by contacting the Corruption and Crime Commission (www.ccc.wa.gov.au or (08) 9215 4888). You may also have the option of contacting the WA State Ombudsman (www.ombudsman.wa.gov.au), but the Ombudsman is usually restricted to complaints about administrative matters involving police, not alleged misconduct by officers.
Suggested way forward
There are a number of formal complaints processes available to you. If you are not happy with the response of any of the above agencies, you may want to consider speaking to a lawyer who can help you deal with these agencies and ensure your matter is resolved. By pressing the “Consult a Lawyer” button, LawAdvisor can help you search for experienced lawyers and obtain fee proposals for their services. Costs for legal advice and representation will vary between providers based on experience and the scope of services.
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