B.08 Prisoner Death and Death of Prisoners' Family Members (National Policy)

Policy Standards

• Any death of a prisoner is lawfully confirmed and activities are carried out within the law and with respect for the spiritual, religious and cultural beliefs of the deceased

Performance Standards

1. Every effort must be made to maintain life prior to confirmation by a registered nurse, doctor or attending ambulance staff that a prisoner is dead unless there are obvious signs that the prisoner has been dead for some time and that attempts to resuscitate would be futile.
2. Immediate response procedures are carried out in accordance with the provision of PPM B.08.01 Managing the Deaths of Prisoners and the Deaths of Prisoners’ Family Members.
3. Staff are aware of the key roles and responsibilities of agencies involved following a prisoner’s death as described in PPM B.08.01 Managing the Deaths of Prisoners and the Deaths of Prisoners’ Family Members.
4. Advice to external agencies and next of kin is managed in accordance with the PPM B.08.01 Managing the Deaths of Prisoners and the Deaths of Prisoners’ Family Members.
5. The decision as to whether the prisoner telephone system should be disabled for a reasonable period of time, after such an incident, rests with the Officer in Charge of the incident (either the Prison Manager, on Call Officer or Supervision Officer). This decision should be based on the circumstances, including an assessment of the likelihood of the information being passed on to the next of kin initially by anyone other than the Police.
6. Staff involved must complete the initial incident report by the end of the shift during which the incident occurred.
7. The death must be recorded in the prison logbook.
8. Each prison region must have in place and accessible to all staff, a register containing the names and contact details of appropriate cultural, religious and spiritual support volunteers who can be called upon, amongst other things, to provide assistance in case of prisoner death to ensure that the necessary processes are carried out in keeping with the known cultural, religious and spiritual needs of the deceased, his / her family / whānau and others (including staff).
9. Each prison must have in place a system to ensure counselling and ongoing support for staff and prisoners involved in incidents of prisoner death.
10. The booklet “Death in Custody” is to be provided to the family of a deceased prisoner where appropriate.
11. Prisoners are advised of the death of a family member in accordance with PPM A.08.01 Managing the Deaths of Prisoners and the Deaths of Prisoners’ Family Members.
12. Deceased prisoner property may only be released to the "Contact Person" identified in IOMS, or to any other person approved by the "Contact Person" identified in IOMS.