Lynne Martin at her trial in the High Court at Gisborne. Photo: Stuff / John Cowpland
The Independent Police Conduct Authority has found Gisborne police failed in their duty of care of Lynne Martin who died in police cells.
The 63-year-old was found dead by an officer on 23 November 2023, the day after she was convicted of murdering her father. Ronald Allison died in January 2013 after Martin set his house on fire while he slept inside.
Before Martin's death she had her health and wellbeing assessed to determine the best regime while in custody and placed in a cell by herself.
She was scheduled to be checked every two hours but for various reasons, not all checks were completed, the IPCA said.
That night eight other people were detained.
The authority said the coroner was looking into the circumstances of Martin's death, and that no evidence of a crime was detected.
The authority found that initially the care of Martin in police custody was appropriate and in line with police obligations, with the information available.
But in the IPCA's view, the receiving officers should not have relied on a computer-based assessment and observation plan, but instead applief wider consideration of Martin's circumstances.
In its findings, it said Martin was in poor health after being convicted of murder and if this had been factored into her police assessment, she would likely have been checked more frequently.
The IPCA also found two officers acted unprofessionally by failing to complete physical checks and doing so only through CCTV cameras in the cells.
It found the officers submitted a false record on physical checks which were not completed, going against police policy.
One officer also displayed poor judgement when he left his duties during his shift. This presented a danger to all the detainees.
The IPCA has made two recommendations for improvements.
It said police should liaise with Corrections and the Ministry of Justice on prisoner care where a person is remanded into Corrections care but required to spend time detained in a police cell, and that they re-evaluate how they assess the level of care and monitoring a person requires while in custody. Police advised a proposed review would cover this.
Police accepted the IPCA findings and agreed they should have considered the wider circumstances of Martin's situation and checked her more frequently.
Eastern District Commander Superintendent Jeanette Park said after reviewing the events leading to Martin's death, police came to a similar conclusion as the IPCA.
"Police accepts the actions of the officers were not in line with the standard of care we expect for those who come into police custody," Park said
It reinforced with staff across the country that detainees must be checked properly and not only via CCTV.
Park said staff members who were found to act unprofessionally have been given additional training after an employment investigation.
"Police remain committed to continuous improvement ensuring a high standard of care for the more than 120,000 detainees who come into our custody units across New Zealand each year."
"Police has implemented significant changes over the last few years, including the creation of a National Custody Team which provides oversight of the policy, practice, and training for all Police staff," Park said.
