On 12 June 2025 Coroner Ho issued a judgment concerning the death of three-year-old Lachlan Jones in January 2019. In the course of his judgment the Coroner criticised aspects of the Police's two inquiries into the incident, and directed Police to conduct a further (third) inquiry.
The Authority has been approached by various media organisations and asked what, if any, steps it is proposing to take in light of the criticisms of Police contained in the Coroner's judgment.
Some of those requests illustrate a lack of understanding of the Authority's role, and this statement is intended to clarify the position.
The Authority has no jurisdiction to put itself in the position of Police and inquire into the underlying incident.
The Authority's role is to look at any unlawful action or other misconduct on the part of Police.
Questions have been raised in relation to the Police's first and second inquiries. Police themselves have reviewed those inquiries and acknowledged significant shortcomings. To this point, the Authority's only involvement has been to agree with Police's criticisms of the first inquiry and their conclusion that the second inquiry did what, from a practical point of view, could be done to correct the position.
In his judgment, Coroner Ho has made further criticisms of Police.
The Authority's understanding is that Police are proposing to investigate those criticisms (separately from the third inquiry into the incident itself). Assuming that Police do so, the Authority would expect to exercise its oversight function in relation to that investigation.
The Authority will not be making any further statements until that process is complete at which point it will determine - as it does in every case - whether or not it is appropriate to issue a public report.
Judge Kenneth Johnston KC
Chair
Independent Police Conduct Authority
