Inquest into the Death of Jamie Frederick GINN
Inquest into the Death of Jamie Frederick GINN
Delivered on : 17 December 2025
Delivered at : Perth
Finding of : Coroner Jenkin
Recommendations :Yes
Recommendation No. 1
To ensure the integrity of any scene relevant to a death or serious incident at the Perth Watch House (PWH), the Western Australia Police Force should ensure that all relevant personnel (including PWH staff, registered nurses employed at PWH, and paramedics who may attend PWH) are aware of the critical importance of complying with the checklist in the PWH document entitled “Death or Serious Incident at PWH - Initial Response”. In particular, all relevant personnel should be reminded of the importance of ensuring all relevant items at the scene are seized for possible analysis.
Recommendation No. 2
The Western Australia Police Force should conduct a review of staffing levels at the Perth Watch House (PWH) to determine whether existing staffing levels are appropriate. In particular, the review should consider whether the number of cells officers allocated to each shift at the PWH is sufficient.
Recommendation No. 3
The Western Australia Police Force should conduct a review of the position of Cells Control Officer (CCO) at the Perth Watch House (PWH) to determine whether it is appropriate for that officer to be responsible for monitoring close circuit TV (CCTV) cameras in cells at PWH as well as various other tasks. The review should consider such issues as:
- whether one Police Auxiliary Officer (PAO) should be solely responsible for monitoring PWH CCTV cameras;
- whether an additional PAO should be allocated to the control room and take responsibility for data entry and other tasks currently performed by the CCO; and
- whether the PAOs referred to in (a) and (b) above should swap roles every two hours, or other suitable interval.
Recommendation No. 4
The Western Australia Police Force (WAPOL) should review procedures for basic searches and strip searches for detainees received by the Perth Watch House (PWH) to determine whether those procedures can be enhanced to improve the likelihood that any items which may be concealed by detainees (including illicit drugs) are located. WAPOL should also ensure that all PWH staff who conduct basic and/or strip searches are familiar with relevant policies.
Recommendation No. 5
To improve the likelihood that any items which may be concealed by detainees (including illicit drugs) are found when detainees are admitted to the Perth Watch House, the Western Australia Police Force should consider if all detainees should be required to pass through a body scanner.
Recommendation No. 6
To enhance the safety and welfare of detainees and staff at the Perth Watch House (PWH), the Western Australia Police Force should review whether the close circuit television (CCTV) cameras and other monitoring equipment used at the PWH could be enhanced. The review should consider options including (but not limited to): multiple CCTV cameras in cells; radar-sensing technology, artificial intelligence technologies (including algorithms to detect unusual detainee behaviour), biometric monitoring systems, and body worn cameras for Police Auxiliary Officers employed at PWH.
Recommendation No. 7
In order to ensure that the welfare of detainees at the Perth Watch House (PWH) is optimised, the Western Australia Police Force should conduct a review to determine whether the number of registered nurses available on each shift at the PWH is sufficient, and whether the current shift length for those nurses (i.e.: 12-hours) is appropriate.
Orders/Rules : No
Suppression Order : Yes
Suppression Order:
On the basis it would be contrary to the public interest, I make an Order under section49(1)(b) of the Coroners Act 1996 (WA) that there be no reporting or publication of: 1. Reports prepared by Detective Acting Sergeant B Wright (including annexures), or of Detective Acting Sergeant Wright’s oral evidence at this inquest which details WA Police Force policy and operations at the Perth Watch House; and 2. Reports prepared by Inspector D Newman (including annexures), or of Inspector Newman’s oral evidence at this inquest, which details WA Police Force policy and operations at the Perth Watch House.
Summary: Mr Jamie Frederick Ginn (Mr Ginn) was 50-years of age when he died at the Perth Watch House in Northbridge (PWH) on 10 October 2023 from cocaine toxicity. The coroner was unable to make to make any finding (to the relevant standard) about when and how Mr Ginn ingested the cocaine that caused his death
At about 1.00 pm on 10 October 2023, Mr Ginn voluntarily met with police at an industrial unit in Gnangara where he was arrested in relation to alleged firearms offences. Mr Ginn was then present when police searched the unit and the hotel room he had slept in the night before.
After Mr Ginn was refused bail, he was taken to the PWH and he arrived there at about 5.00 pm. Following assessments by a registered nurse, and police auxiliary officers (PAOs) Mr Ginn was strip searched and placed in a cell by himself.
At 6.53 pm, a PAO found Mr Ginn on the floor of his cell having what appeared to be a seizure. Other officers arrived and Mr Ginn was placed in the recovery position. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation was started at 7.15 pm when Mr Ginn stopped breathing, and ambulance officers arrived a short time later. Despite extensive resuscitation efforts, Mr Ginn could not be revived and he was declared deceased at 8.05 pm.
The coroner was satisfied that Mr Ginn received an appropriate standard of supervision, treatment and care in the period from his arrest until he lodged at the PWH. The coroner was also satisfied that Mr Ginn received an appropriate standard of treatment and care during the period he was detained at the PWH.
The coroner noted that the Cells Control Officer (who at the relevant time was responsible for “continuously monitoring” detainees at PWH) had failed to notice Mr Ginn’s obvious medical event between 6.38 pm and 6.53 pm. Although the coroner was unable to conclude (to the relevant standard) that this failure had caused or contributed to Mr Ginn’s death, the coroner found that the standard of supervision Mr Ginn received whilst he was detained at PWH was poor.
The coroner was satisfied that the actions of the police officers who arrested Mr Ginn and transported him to the PWH on 10 October 2023 did not cause or contribute to his death. The coroner reached the same conclusion with respect to the actions of the PAOs who interacted with Mr Ginn during his detention.
Catch Words : Death in Custody : Cocaine toxicity : Supervision : Accident
Last updated: 29 December 2025