New South Wales Consolidated Regulations New South Wales Consolidated Regulations(cf Crimes (Detention after Arrest) Regulation 1998 , Sch 1)
(Clause 18)
The custody manager for a detained person should not put specific questions to the person regarding the person’s involvement in any offence.
The custody manager for a detained person should ascertain what property the person has with him or her when the person comes to the police station or other place of detention concerned, or had taken from him or her on arrest, and should arrange for safekeeping of the property if it remains at the police station or other place of detention.
In considering whether a detained person has a total or partial loss of his or her mental functions, or a disorder or malfunction that results in the person learning differently from a person without the disorder or malfunction, the custody manager for the detained person should have regard to whether the person appears:
(a) to have difficulty understanding questions and instructions, or
(b) to respond inappropriately or inconsistently to questions, or
(c) to have a short attention span, or
(d) to receive a disability support pension, or
(e) to reside at a group home or institution, or be employed at a sheltered workshop, or
(f) to be undertaking education, or to have been educated at a special school or in special education classes at a mainstream school, or
(g) to have an inability to understand a caution given to the person under section 122 of the Act.
If an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander who is not a child is placed in a police cell:
(a) wherever possible, that person should be accommodated with another Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander who is not a child, and
(b) the person should not be placed alone in the cell unless there is no reasonably practicable alternative.
(1) An Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander who is a child should not be placed in a police cell except in exceptional circumstances that make it necessary for the well-being of the child.
(2) If it is necessary to detain such a child overnight in a police cell, the custody manager for the child should arrange for a support person to remain with the child unless it is not reasonably practicable to do so.
(1) This clause applies to a child who is not an Aboriginal person or Torres Strait Islander.
(2) A child to whom this clause applies should not be placed in a cell unless:(a) no other secure accommodation is available and the custody manager for the child considers that it is not practicable to supervise the child if the child is not placed in a cell, or(b) the custody manager considers that a cell provides more comfortable accommodation than other secure accommodation in the police station.
(3) Such a child should not be placed in a cell with a detained person who is not a child except in exceptional circumstances that make it necessary for the well-being of the child.
If a detained person is placed in a locked police cell, no additional restraint should be used within the cell unless absolutely necessary.
(1) A police officer should bear in mind that a person with some ability in conversational English may still require an interpreter in order to ensure that the person understands his or her legal rights.
(2) A qualified interpreter should be preferred over a person who speaks the detained person’s language but is not a qualified interpreter. A qualified interpreter is one who is accredited to professional level by the National Accreditation Authority of Translators and Interpreters in the language concerned.
(3) An interpreter should not be used as a support person.