Police Discretion and Racial Discrimination in Criminology and Criminal Justice

This article discusses the issue of police discretion and racial discrimination in criminology and criminal justice. It explores the case of Mulrunji and the association between police and indigenous people. The article also examines the findings on over-policing and its impact on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.

Running Head: CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE 1
CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE
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Introduction
Discretion can be described as the abilities exercised by an individual while making
decisions in certain circumstances. Police discretion is a process that involves serious
decision-making process where police officers conduct a number of analysis on available
choices at their disposal .This is in an effort to choose the right and comfortable choice for
implementation. Moreover, they might have to decide whether to give warning to someone or
let them free based on the offence that they might have committed. The kind of all-round
example in which police exercise discretion include violation of traffic rules and domestic
violence.
Discussion
Law enforcement officers often contribute to what the society views as racial
discrimination because they are trained to apply their discretion while carrying out their
duties. These race and ethnicity factors are usually associated with a higher likelihood of guilt
to commit an offence, thus it is an issue that is viewed by most police officers as fundamental
when making important decisions. The process of making decisions and reasoning based on
race is strictly unlawful because discretion is a science which is driven by specific rules and
regulations (Behrendt, Cunneen, & Libesman, 2009). Nevertheless, it is a challenging process
to prove before a judge in court on the application of race and ethnicity in warranting the
arrest of an individual.
I. The Doomadgee Case
In 2004 Queensland resident, Palm Island, Doomadgee passed on while in police custody.
His tribal name was Mulrunji. When he passed on in police custody, there were multiple
public unrests which resulted to media, political and legal pressure that continued for another
three years (Dudgeon, et al., 2010).The person of interest in the entire issue was an Australian

CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE 3
police officer. He was taken for a court trial for the first time since the establishing of the
office of public prosecution. After a series of hearing the person of interest was acquitted of
all the charges against him by a jury in 2007 after the accusation of Mulrunji’s death in
custody (Dale, & Krawitz, 2011).The major legal questions that came up from Mulrunji’s
death was: Was Mulrunji’s taking into custody lawful? Did he die due to injuries inflicted on
him by the police officer?
The officer who arrested him was solely responsible for the injuries inflicted on
Mulrunji. Ideally, Mulrunji’s demise raised further political questions concerning the Royal
Commission of 1990. The main objective of establishing the commission was to prevent
more deaths of Indigenous people while in custody. It was questionable whether the
committee proposals had been effected by the government or they were disregarded
altogether (Cunningham, & Paradies, 2013).
II. The association Between Police and Indigenous People
The Indigenous communities of Australia are made of people who have gone through
multiple racial discrimination .The foundation of such discriminative perceptions is the idea
that “superior” communities view them as communities of low state (Prenzler, 2009). As a
result, recent studies have confirmed that the Indigenous communities have been targeted by
police discretion irrespective of the type and magnitude of offence hey have committed.
Therefore, regardless of the Suggestions given by the Royal Commission of 1990, new rules
of accountability by law enforcement officer have not been enforced.
Mulrunji was an aboriginal Australian who was 36 years old at the time of his demise.
His death followed an hour after he was detained and charged with instigating public
disturbance .The suspect was locked up in the back side of Palm Island Police station. The

CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE 4
arresting officers were Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley and his liaison police officer, Lloyd
Bengaroo.
Mr. Mulrunji’s death was the 147th among the indigenous people, and it resulted in
unrest from the residents of the island (Heffernan, Andersen, & Kinner, 2009).After Mr.
Mulrunji’s death, an autopsy was conducted and the results were later presented to the family
one week after his death. The results showed that Mr. Mulrunji suffered broken ribs, which in
turn destroyed his liver and spleen. He also had a 0.29 blood content which included a
mixture of sweet cordial and methylated spirits. The cause of death was haemorrhage of
intra-abdominal tissues and the liver.
During a family interview, members and friends recounted the events that led to the
demise of Mr. Mulrunji. Earlier that day, he had visited his young niece. During the stopover,
he took some beer but didn’t get drunk and a bucket of crabs which he intended to sell. He
then walked to his sister’s and mother’s house at Dee Street where he was arrested by the
police. As he was walking, he was singing the song “who let the dogs out,” when the police
passed him. Previously that day, Sergeant Chris Hurley, a white Australian was probing
claims of assault by Gladys Nugget who was allegedly beaten by Roy Bramwell.
Gladys asked the police officers to escort her in the quest for her safety as she
retrieved her medication from Bramwell’s house. At this time, Mr. Mulrunji teased the police
Liaison which later led to his arrest for public disturbance. The arrest of Mr. Mulrunji was
based on the nuisance he was causing in public as a result of what he saw happen to a fellow
aboriginal .Therefore, Senior Sergeant Hurley’s decision to intervene and arrest Mulrunji was
not appropriate since he had only caused a small nuisance. His unrest was a response to
seeing a fellow Indigenous being arrested and the police Liaison taking part in it. Mulrunji’s
detention was understandably unfair because of the injuries that he got in the incident. This is

CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE 5
a clear working example of how inconsequential issues can result to serious consequences
that eventually would lead to the death of a victim in custody.
Mulrunji’s Family spokesman, Brad Foster, stated that 15 minutes had already passed
before the victim went through the usual check. The check is usually conducted once an
individual arrives at the police station before being taken to the cells. One of the police
officers at the station noticed that Mr. Mulrunji was cold to the touch and had a strange skin
color 40 minutes after being placed in the cells. Moreover, the officer was not able to find a
heartbeat. Senior Sergeant Chris Hurley quickly went to the cells after he was notified about
the victim’s situation. Later, an ambulance was called and arrived within 15 minutes.
However, the paramedics never tried to resuscitate the inmate and as a result he died.
In February 2005, a one-day hearing was conducted. It involved inquiries to the death
of Mr. Mulrunji in custody .The coroner, Mr. Barnes choose the seat of the hearing to be
Palm Island to ensure that the resident had a chance to follow the proceedings. Nevertheless,
police evidence and medical evidence were taken to Townsville due to safety concerns. Mr.
Barnes was deputised by two senior counsels during the hearing. However, the Island did not
have large enough premises that would fit the crowd which were expected to follow the
proceedings and therefore, it was decided that hearing be taken to Marquee.
During the hearing, the Doomadgee family demanded their departed member be
referred to as Mr. Mulrunji which was in accordance with aboriginal’s traditional practices.
The coroner revealed that, during the 1990 resolution by the Criminal Justice Commission, a
number of grievances had been brought forward about concerning Charles Hurley’s conducts.
However, he pointed out that he did not handle the investigations and thus didn’t have
records of the complaints. However, he made the decision that the complaints that were
reported back then were never substantiated. Doomadgee Family lawyer and Charles Hurley

CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE 6
requested the disqualification of Mr. Barnes on the ground that he may be unfair in his
decisions. Coroner Christine Clements was appointed to replace Mr. Barnes, who later found
that Mr. Mulrunji had died due to punches he got from Chris Hurley. She also pointed out
that the police didn’t take their time in investigating the case.
A video footage was presented in the hearing showing Sergeant Chris Hurley sliding
down the wall of the cell. This was a sign that he was frustrated that his actions lead to the
death of the inmate and the main cause of his death (Mulrunji) may be injuries that he
inflicted on the victim. This is typical behavior usually displayed by a guilty person.
Earlier, police discretion was only exercised on sensitive issues. The fact is that this
kind of actions do not have clear explanations or limit police officers to abuse in their favor.
Between 1980 and 2011, Aboriginal deaths was at a record 203.This clearly shows that
decision of police discretion often work against the interests of Indigenous communities.
Multiple studies have shown a trend in brutal torture of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
victims. A prior case analysis of a similar incident involved a sixteen-year old Aboriginal;
John Pat.
Upon the arrest of John Pat, he was knocked by a police officer prior to being hauled
violently into a police car. The police officers continued with the assault that lead to John Pat
succumbing to a few broken ribs. A similar case as to the prosecution of sergeant Chris
Hurley, the police officer involved in Pat’s death were charged with manslaughter , but they
were later acquitted (Fast, & Collin-Vézina, 2010).This further confirms the fact that the
police discretion that led to Mr. Mulrunji’s death was based on his race. Since he was an
Aboriginal, the police characterised him as an individual who intended to cause much
trouble, automatically resulting to his arrest at the smallest hint of unlawful conduct such as
public nuisance.

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Findings from cases associated with aboriginal victims dying in police custody
indicate that the involved police officers applied their right to discretion with forcefulness
when they were apprehending the law breaker. The charged officers are prosecuted but later
acquitted. Such unsuccessful trials often work against the interest of the Australian Native
people. There are multiple injustices to the victims or their families.
Based on the evidence in Mr. Mulrunji’s case, the investigating officers were friends
of the person of interest in the murder incident: Sergeant Christopher Hurley. While the
investigating officers were from a different Jurisdiction, they had fun with Sergeant
Christopher Hurley upon their arrival at Palm Island. This collusion inevitably interfered with
the investigation process as per the directives given by Coroner Christine Clements (Baldry,
Carlton, & Cunneen, 2015). In the case that that the investigator openly expresses their
collusion with the person of interest, it is the right of the public to develop mistrust against
the investigator. It was explicit that the investigating officers were acting in a way that
suggested that they were “untouchable” and the interests of the Aboriginal peoples were not
of any importance to them (Shwarten 2010).
III. Over-Policing
A review was carried out in 2010 on the investigations conducted by the police
following the circumstance that led to the demise of Mr. Mulrunji, and it was found that the
investigations into the incident had very serious flaws. (CMC, 2010). These finding were
arrived at after the findings of the commission during the trial were found to be insufficient or
not capable of proving before any disciplinary committee in warranting Sergeant Hurley’s
responsibility to Mr. Mulrunji’s demise .Such weak findings from the investigative tribunal
amplify the proposition that police discretionary decisions often work against Indigenous

CRIMINOLOGY AND CRIMINAL JUSTICE 8
people’s interest. However, the police are still the main body with the responsibility of
investigating deaths of offenders in custody (Jeffries, 2015a)
Any form of favouritism applied in police discretion should be based on facts and the
magnitude of the offence and not the offender’s race. If the police apprehend white
Australian, such offenders get a completely different treatment from what the Aboriginal and
Torres Strait Islander people receive. Most certainly there won’t be any form of excessive
force being applied by the police. The excessive force that was used in Mr. Mulrunji’s case
was due to the fact that he was an aboriginal Australian. Law enforcement officers are
supposed to uphold the rule of law. They should always exercise fairness to all people
regardless of their races (Jeffries, 2015b).
It is evident that police in Mr. Mulrunji’s cases took a long time before conducting the
standard procedures before locking him in the cell. This form of neglect was according based
on the victim’s race .The unfair treatment associated with being an Aboriginal or a Torres
Strait Islander has been experience through the 203 reported cases of aboriginals dying in
custody (Lum 2011).The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people have experienced the
negative attributes attached to them by the police , and this has in turn caused sour
relationship between them .Instead of seeking and implementing new strategies that would
improve the relation, there is still a long misunderstanding between the two warring factions.
One great example is the long standing strain where Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander
people went for a hunting spree in a public area in Western Australia. The Land
Administration Act allow landowners to track other cultural pursuits on leases which have
embraced the land .These laws are usually respected by station owners , but in this case the
staff in the station called the police to report the incident (Purdy,2012).

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Police officers were dispatched to intercept the Aboriginals because they “threatened”
the staffers. With such small cases being reported, it is evident that there is constant tension
between the Indigenous people and law enforcement officers. (Lyneham, & Chan, 2013). It
has also been reported that police often use derogatory terms towards the aboriginals .Such
incidence turn traumatic to anyone especially when directed to young individuals. They
usually grow up fearing and hating the police because of the treatment they received when
they were young.
Conclusion
It does not help in any way for police officers mistreating the Indigenous people
solely on the basis of their race .Moreover, it is unlawful and such reported mistreatments
should be followed by arresting the suspects. It is important for police officers to always
exercise respect of racial relations. In addition, they need to always do their job without bias.
There is hope that if law enforcement officers exercise fairness, just and respect, then the
existing antagonism will end. Mr.Murlunji’s case is a perfect example of how police
discretion can bring a lot of unrest. Racial discrimination of Aboriginal and Torres Strait
Islander people has caused a lot of bias to the extent that police officer are now using
excessive force in excursing their duties. Law enforcement officers should attend regular
training during their time of service in order to ensure they always adhere to good morals and
ethical conducts Disciplinary action against officer found guilty need to be implemented and
effected. This would ensure that those found guilty of prejudicing police discretion are
punished. In addition, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people ought to report any cases
of bias so that they can be dealt with immediately in an effort to mitigate the vice.

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References
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Behrendt, L., Cunneen,
C., 1953, & Libesman, T.
(2009). Indigenous legal
relations in
australia (pp. 113-136).
South Melbourne, Vic:
Oxford University Press.
Behrendt, L., Cunneen,
C., 1953, & Libesman, T.
(2009). Indigenous legal
relations in
australia (pp. 113-136).
South Melbourne, Vic:
Oxford University Press.