Recommendation 143

This recommendation is assigned to CSNSW.

Recommendation

All persons taken into custody, including those persons detained for intoxication, should be provided with a proper meal at regular meal times. The practice operating in some jurisdictions of excluding persons detained for intoxication from being provided with meals should be reviewed as a matter of priority.

Context

At the commencement of Chapter 24.1 the Royal Commission report stated that issues dealing with Police and prison custody deaths would be dealt with separately in different chapters as the issues were quite distinct. Since the time of the RCIADIC report, CSNSW has taken operational responsibility for some police/court cells. The Royal Commission identified that for some persons who had been detained for protective custody on the issue of intoxication, they were not to be provided meals during their detention. The Royal Commission emphasised the foreseeable risk of withholding food from intoxicated persons due to the relationship between alcohol misuse and other illnesses such as diabetes. This recommendation is primarily directed at NSW Police, however CSNSW has responded as far as it relates to CSNSW.

Detail of implementation

The detention part of this recommendation relates to the initial period a person is in police custody and whilst not directed at CSNSW, CSNSW provide all offenders with three (3) Corrective Services Industries (CSI) meals per day within Court Escort and Security Unit (CESU) 24-hour court/cell complexes. CSNSW will provide all offenders attending court in a Court Escort Security Unit (CESU) court location with a CSI meal for lunch. Where CSI meals are unavailable, then the meal will be provided by suppliers contracted by CSNSW.

Each day CSNSW supplies inmates with a diet designed to provide a dietary intake as per clause 50 of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Regulation 2014.

CSI Food Services provides food to most inmates across centres in New South Wales. The aim is to provide a variety of healthy, good quality food within a balanced diet which meets the Australian Dietary Guidelines.

The nutritional needs and dietary requirements are managed through the CSNSW approved Menu Control Plan (MCP), which is designed to ensure the health and wellbeing of all inmates. The MCP operates on a 28-day cycle to ensure menu variety.

The MCP incorporates normal and vegetarian options. Medically restricted and therapeutic diets are provided on the advice of a medical practitioner, in accordance with Justice Health Policy 1.135 Therapeutic Diets Clinically Recommended – Diet Request Certificate, and religious diets on the advice of the Chaplain.

CSI Food Services engages an external Dietician to provide nutritional analysis of the MCP to ensure dietary standards are met. This includes analysis on quantity, variety and nutritional values. A nutritional analysis was carried out in November 2022 and reported to the Corrective Food Services Working Party (CFSWP) in December 2022. This analysis shows that the MCP meets the Australian Dietary Guidelines.

Evidence

• Clause 50 of the Crimes (Administration of Sentences) Regulation 2014
• Australian Dietary Guidelines
• Justice Health Policy 1.135 Therapeutic Diets Clinically Recommended – Diet Request Certificate