With the Coronial Inquest into the Sydney Lindt Café deaths beginning this week, public attention has focused on what the State Coroner of NSW may find out, and how his recommendations will reflect on the New South Wales Police Force. Yesterday, our own Dr Claire Ferguson was live on Channel 9’s ‘Mornings’ to discuss how police prepare for a Coronial Inquest versus a criminal prosecution.
Claire noted that having a Coronial Inquest rather than a criminal trial(s) would not change how the police conducted their work after these deaths. The police (and any other relevant agencies) would complete as thorough an investigation as possible regardless of the fact that Man Haron Monis could no longer be prosecuted. This would include reconstructing the crime, and the days and weeks leading up to it, through compiling evidence like: CCTV and security footage; victim, police and witness statements; ballistics and trajectory evidence; correspondence between Monis and the police; personal information about Monis, his behaviour prior to his death, and his increasing stressors; electronic and social media account details; and the results of many different types of forensic testing.
Why would the police need to do such an investigation if the known perpetrator is deceased? Dr. Ferguson noted in her interview that results of the police inquiry are used to determine whether and to what extent anyone else was criminally involved in the actions at the Lindt Café. The NSWPF needed to conduct a very detailed investigation to determine whether anyone else posed a risk to public safety, and/or could have charges brought against them. They also compiled this evidence to better understand their own reaction to the events of December 15; including whether their policies about active shooters worked in this instance, and whether they need to be modified in the future. The Coroner will use all of the evidence they collected and analysed to better understand how these deaths took place, and how they could be prevented in the future. Even though we may not have a criminal prosecution in this case, crime reconstruction will still play a leading role in determining what happened and why. No doubt, how the reconstruction was compiled will be questioned and defended in the Coroner’s courtroom with the hope of learning exactly how this tragedy came to be.
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