“They just don’t care about us!”: Police custody experiences for young men with histories of injecting drug use

Abstract

Young men (aged 18–24) represent a quarter of all episodes of police custody detention for adult males in Victoria, Australia. Despite this, little is known about their experience. Using Bacchi’s Foucauldian-influenced “What’s the problem represented to be?” approach and data from interviews with 28 young men with histories of injecting drug use who were detained in police custody prior to adult prison, we aim to address this gap in the literature. We highlight how dividing practices of discrimination made possible their subjectification as “dangerous violent Others” and how unruly behaviour and self-harm were simultaneous mechanisms for voicing their despair and frustration, for gaining power in a place in which they had very little control and for resisting dominant truths imposed upon them as worthless subjects. It is such positioning we argue, that allowed the forfeiting of their rights to basic health care, fair treatment and respect, and at the same time produced and exacerbated a range of psychological, physical and social harms. Our analysis raises important questions about police custody, notably its role in the production of inequality and further marginalisation of vulnerable groups.

“That’s the Lowest Place on Earth!” Experiences of the Carceral Spaces of Australian Police Custody for Marginalized Young Men

“…One young man, who was among at least seven who self-harmed in custody, including hunger striking, cutting, and punching walls (see Walker, Higgs, et al, 2019), described spending a night at the MCC in a “padded cell with a suicide blanket,” because he had been “head-butting” a brick wall. A simultaneous process for gaining the attention of staff and voicing their despair and powerlessness when requests for care or medication were delayed or ignored, and a potential mechanism for rejecting dominant truths imposed upon them as second-class citizens, self-harm made possible material effects even beyond those of the physical harms imposed upon themselves.…”

The pains of police custody for children: a recipe for injustice and exclusion?

“…You've done as you're told, as I asked you to, then you can have X. ' (CO41) (see for similar Choongh 1997;Walker et al 2020). This generated in young participants the same 'extreme scepticism about the utility of rights' that Choongh (1997: 177) identified in adult detainees-as Hussain observed: 'there's no point in ringing the bell, they're just gonna waste your time' .…”

“…(Megan), (see for similar Hazel et al 2003;Jones 2007), recalling the pain of prisoner 'underload' (Toch 1982). These privations tended to magnify pre-existing vulnerabilities (see for similar Walker et al 2020), and could be particularly difficult for those who were on medication:…”

“…Internationally there is also little comparable work (see for notable exceptions in Northern Ireland (Quinn and Jackson 2007), and Israel (Shalhoub-Kevorkian and Kovner 2018). Nor has the experience for young adult suspects been significantly explored (see for England and Wales ( Jones 2007( Jones , 2011 and for longer pre-trial detention in Victoria, Australia (Walker et al 2020)).…”

Health care in police watch‐houses: a challenge and an opportunity

“…Common problems faced in prison health care include vulnerability, physical and mental stress, and associated social determinants of poor health 4 . These are reflected among watch‐house detainees 5,6 . A review of 505 coroners’ reports pertaining to deaths in police custody in Australia between 1991 and 2016 revealed that 43 (9%) occurred in a police station, police vehicle, police cell, or watch‐house; 7 of these, 15 occurred in Queensland, and 17 were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander people.…”