Tightening the Screws !

A new edict requires that convicted prisoners appearing in New South Wales courts will in future appear in handcuffs.  The only exceptions will be pregnant women, and those with medical conditions.

This is the outcome from a recent incident when Ali Cahine, 33 jumped from the dock, attacked and injured the two Corrective Services officers and escaped through a fire exit and evaded pursuers by jumping on a city bus to make his escape.   He has since been recaptured.

Policing is a dangerous job and it has got more dangerous since Islamic State ( IS ) has declared police as targets for those radicalized young men it is churning out as "Lone Wolf "killers on our streets.   There is a real danger that policing in Australia may follow the American example where the gulf between police and citizens is causing the average citizen to fear their own police.

There is now an expectation that any person placed under arrest - will resist - and probably very violently.  When a driver refuses to stop as directed by police and if this results in a car chase it is common for the arrest to take place at gun point and for police to require the fleeing driver to keep his hands on show - and lay on the ground.   There is an expectation that a weapon may be involved, and precautions are taken to search for a gun or a knife.

Individual police officers make their own evaluation of the risk whenever they make an arrest and recent events caution them to err on the side of personal safety.  When something like a rave party is raided and a big number of suspects are involved it is now common for plastic cable ties to serve in place of metal handcuffs.  Both genders are put under restraint while the police sort out who will be charged - and what offences apply.   Some think this is degrading when the majority are eventually released without a charge.

We place great value on human dignity.  Serious charges which may involve a long prison term see the courts appoint a legal defendant if the prisoner does not make personal arrangements and care is taken to present that person in court in a neat and well groomed manner.  The notion of "Innocent until proven guilty " is the backbone of our legal system.

It seems that the right of the judge or magistrate to order the removal of handcuffs from a prisoner appearing before them will no longer apply.  The safety of police, Sheriffs or Corrective Services officers serving in courts will take precedence over the comfort and media view of the charged person.  A news photograph of a person in handcuffs portrays an impression of guilt.

We have seen how overseas courts handle the presentation of prisoners in the news footage of the long trials of three Al Jazeera journalists in a Cairo court.   Those before the court are actually caged in the courtroom - like wild animals.   There is no expectation that dignity will be preserved and the prisoners give evidence by shouting above the noise of the court from behind bars.   That is not a form of justice that would be welcome in this country.

We need to be very careful in serving the interests of security to avoid creating a lack of trust between the public, the police and the courts.   Applying a "one size fits all " approach will be a step on the road that leads to the Cairo spectacle !