Officers working at a police custody unit in Gisborne failed to properly check on a woman convicted of murder who was found dead in her cell.
The circumstances surrounding the death of 63-year-old Lynne Martin have been detailed in a decision released by the Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) today.
Martin was convicted of murdering her 88-year-old father by setting fire to his house near Te Karaka following a three-week trial in November 2023.
Following the conviction, Martin was taken to the Gisborne police custody suite at the police station, where she would stay overnight before being moved to a corrections facility.
Upon arrival, Martin was searched and given a physical and mental health assessment to determine the appropriate monitoring regime officers would use while she was in custody.
She was placed in a cell by herself and was scheduled to be checked on every two hours.
For various reasons, including staff shortages, not all checks were completed. According to a breakdown of CCTV footage, nobody physically checked on Martin between 9.59pm and 4.29am. Between these hours, she was watched via the CCTV.
One officer left his duties mid-shift to go on a “ride-along” with a night patrol to observe frontline police duties.
Eight others were detained at the station that night.
At around 7.20am on November 23, Martin was found dead after an officer went to speak with her.
“The circumstances of her death are before the coroner for determination, but no evidence of a crime was detected,” the IPCA said. “We consider it likely that Ms Martin died by suicide. However, the full circumstances of her death will no doubt be determined in the impending Coronial Inquiries.”
The IPCA found that Martin’s care in custody was initially “appropriate” and in accordance with police obligations.
However, it said that the receiving officers should have applied “wider consideration” of Martin’s circumstances instead of relying on a computer-based assessment and observation plan.
“Ms Martin had just been convicted of murder and was in poor health. If these considerations had been factored into the police assessment, it is likely she would have been checked more frequently.”
It also found two officers had acted unprofessionally by failing to complete physical checks and submitting a false record of those uncompleted checks.
The authority also said the officer who went on a ride-along had displayed “poor judgment” .
“Police have advised the Authority that several improvements have been made at Gisborne since this incident. We also made two recommendations for improvements,” the IPCA said.
“We acknowledge the tragic circumstances of the overall event and the death of Ms Martin.”
Police respond
Police accepted the findings and said an internal investigation came to a similar conclusion.
“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,” Eastern District Commander Superintendent Jeanette Park said.
She said police had reinforced the message with staff that detainees must be checked correctly, not just via CCTV.
Park said several improvements had been made at the custody unit, and staffing issues had been addressed.
The officers on shift were subject to employment investigation and were given additional training.
Police had also reviewed its process to ensure that a recent conviction for a serious offence influences the monitoring schedule for certain detainees.
“Custody units can be a complex and challenging environment to work in,” Park said.
“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.”
