MANSLAUGHTER CHARGE FOR THIS?
Should a charge of manslaughter be brought against anyone who does not adequately fence their backyard swimming pool in which a child drowns?
The stagnant pool where the toddler drowned. Photograph Tim Barnsley via The Daily Telegraph.
Yes, says Katherine Plint one of the country’s leading campaigners on child drowning prevention.
”It sets a legal precedent, which is what we want. Councils need to enforce laws and those owners refusing to fix their pools need to be prosecuted,” Ms Plint, founder of the advocacy group Hannah’s Foundation told Fairfax media.
A man has become the first person in New South Wales to be charged with manslaughter over a backyard drowning death.
Police allege Armidale man Philip Cameron, 61, caused the death of a two-and-a-half year-old boy by failing to adequately erect a suitable pool barrier in keeping with backyard pool legislation.
The toddler, who cannot be named, was with his mother at Cameron’s neighbour’s place in Armidale on May 14 when he wandered out to the yard and into Cameron’s adjoining property.
Police allege Cameron had not repaired a broken perimeter fence, which acted as a pool barrier, for up to 12 months, and it remained unfixed the afternoon the little boy fell into it.
The boy’s distraught mother pulled her child from the pool unconscious.
He was rushed to Newcastle’s John Hunter Hospital where he was on life support for two days before he died.
After a two-month investigation, police on Tuesday charged Cameron with manslaughter.
He will face Armidale Local Court next month.
The pool was described as “ a bit of a cesspit” by neighbours.
The toddler, his parents’ only child, was playing with his mother in their front garden at about 4pm on May 14 when he wandered off. Ms Plint, who has been involved in the investigation, said the mother looked away for ”a matter of seconds” to talk to a neighbour.
Australian Criminal Law Specialists principal lawyer Nick Boyden said police have always had the power to charge a person with manslaughter over inadequately fenced pools, by way of criminal negligence, even if this is the first time it has been used.
“You’d have to prove a duty of care to the deceased, as the owner of a backyard pool… And that the person breached that duty of care which caused the death of the deceased,” Mr Boyden said.
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54 Responses to this article
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B.K. July 5, 2012
Yes they should be charged. If the fence doesn’t comply with the regulations then why shouldn’t they? There is no point having a law if there is no consequence for breaking it.
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LS July 5, 2012
Sadly, yes. Despite the known dangers & our understanding of toddler behaviour too many pools remain inadequately fenced (actually just one is too many).
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Katie July 5, 2012
If you have an old pool, it is not always clear what is required. The rules have changed over the years, and grandfather clauses apply. Implementation varies from one Council to another. These pool laws need shaking up, cleaning up and simplifying in my opinion. Also there needs to be more enforcement. Many Councils turn a blind eye and this rewards complacency.
While it would not have helped in this case, a certificate of compliance should be required when properties are sold. -
Real World July 5, 2012
Sympathy to all involved. Should he be charged, of course not. The world is a dangerous place, no matter how much legislation is put in place, there will always be ways for children to get hurt or worse. PARENTS are responsible for their children, not every member of society.
Poor police work, charging the pool owner, to appease some pool fence lobby group, by the way it looks. If.convicted, which I highly doubt, he stands to lose his house to the subsequent lawsuit.
Your child, YOUR RESPONSIBILITY. -
Martha Roberts July 5, 2012
You cannot legislate away all risk. These cases are tragic but toddler drowning is ultimately caused by lack of proper supervision. A determined child can access a pool that is fully safety compliant. Nobody wants to make a family going through every parent’s worst nightmare feel guilty, but if you let a small child out of your sight long enough for them to leave one property, enter another and get in the pool YOU have put them at risk. I say this as a pool owning parent of three – harsh but true.
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Nat July 5, 2012
I have a pool, fully fenced, totally enclosed with nothing near it. I am terrified one of my neighbors kids- 6, 8 and 10 will decide to go for a swim when we are at work or away. We have already caught them climbing the fence into our yard before. I can only do so much but if anything happened (god forbid) I’d feel so guilty.
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Nat July 5, 2012
The child could also have wondered out into the road- if they had been hit by a car (assuming they were driving safely) would the driver be charged with manslaughter?
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Mrs Woog July 5, 2012
I liken having a pool to having a loaded gun in the house.
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dramaqueen75 July 5, 2012
It’s a terrible, terrible loss and trauma for everyone involved.
My kids have always spent holidays next to a still water lake – there is no fence, of course, and the whole family watched them like hawks.
Of course all pools need to be fenced, however, I do kind of understand the idea that pool fences lead to a sense of complacency.
I used to have a little blow up pool for summer when the kids were little. I would sit with them and play with them in it – they were never out of my sight. When they had their naps I would run around like a mad chook doing washing, cleaning etc. If a toddler had found their way into my yard and drowned while I was not in proximity of the pool I guess that would have been my fault – but really, where do we “draw the line” and get the balance right?
I don’t have an answer to that. I feel terribly for the families involved, I really do – there but for the grace of….. -
Fiona July 5, 2012
It is so sad the child wandered off, went where it shouldn’t have and drowned but this charge is not very likely to succeed because the child’s mother will be under extreme pressure in cross examination in court to establish her child’s death was NOT due to her lack of care.
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BernieEliza July 5, 2012
Manslaughter charge is excessive. If he is charged, the parents should be as well. They are ultimately reponsible for where their child goes.
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Deb July 5, 2012
I think both neighbours should be liable.
The owner of the home they were visiting knew the fence was broken and they had a duty of care to make sure the child didn’t have access to their backyard. To turn around and say “Well we told the neighbour to fix the fence and he didn’t” I think is a cope out by them. They could of fixed the fence and if they didn’t they should of made sure the child had no access to the area where the fence was broken. So I think both home owners should be charged, if they are going to charge anyone.
What about on a farm with dams? If my child got out of our backyard and went into the neighbours dam, that isn’t their fault, that’s mine because I wasn’t been responsible for the safety of my child. Are we going to fence all dams, rivers and waterways? -
Aeron Winters July 5, 2012
We have almost always lived in properties with pools. When our daughter was 2, she could scale a pool fence like a monkey and more than once she ended up in the pool. I always watched her like a hawk and she never drowned because I was always there to retrieve her. I quickly realised that pool fences,even when working properly are not protection. I believe they make parents complacent. I learned that I couldn’t let my daughter outside to play unless I was watching her, constantly, not even looking away for a minute…because that is all it takes.
If this person’s pool fence was in disrepair, then perhaps he should be punished, but so should the mother for not keeping a closer eye on her child. I personally think that it is tragic, but I don’t know that manslaughter is fair, unless ALL repsonsible parties are charged, mother included. And where do you draw the line. My pool fence is in good working order, but what happens if another ‘monkey child’ (like my daughter was) were to scale the fence and drown in my pool, does that make me repsonsible….unless of course that child were in my care at the time. I don’t see how I can be responsible if some random kid wanders in, scales my fence and drowns whilst I’m not even home. I do think that parents need to keep a closer eye on their children. -
Katie July 5, 2012
Although they seem to be on the increase, backyard pools are an anachronism. The amount of water stored in them all would irrigate a lot of farmland!
Fill them all in and grow local gardens of fresh veggies instead. -
Cathy July 5, 2012
If we had a pool of course we would do everything possible to adequately fence it. But the reason we don’t is because of my fear that my children would somehow work out how to scale/open gate and they are not strong swimmers. I agree with Mrs Woog’s comment.
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thefu50s July 5, 2012
I agree with Mrs Woog and Cathy. Having a pool is just way too much responsibility. If I was buying a house I wouldn’t even bother to look at any with pools.Too much responsibility for me. My nerves couldn’t take it. For a few years I had pool in my backyard when I was a kid but I would rather have been going on outings to the beach. And when I think back to the best times that I had playing in water — with the visits to beaches taken out of the equation — a hose, a sprinker and a sheet of plastic were a hell of a lot of fun.
Besides which, swimming pools are yet another reason why we have lost so much of our green space in our cities.
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Kathleen July 5, 2012
I don’t think a manslaughter charge should be brought. A civil case in respect to the child’s death, with hefty damages/compensation to pay would be more appropriate. As others have observed, there were many factors that led to this tragic event, not just the lack of intact fencing around the property. We live in a world with many dangers & throwing a non-malicious, if negligent, person in prison protects nobody.
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sue elliott July 5, 2012
I live on a canal which butts up to the local park. The park tumbles beautifully down to the sand beach and this body of water is of course unfenced. To get to my pool a toddler or any other serious swimmer / intruder, would need to scale a 1.8m side fence and break into my house, or trespass on my neighbour’s land and climb over their fence and then shuffle along 30 metres of the revetment wall ( only about 20 cm wide ) more than 2 metres tall, then scale my fence. The lengths we had to go to to have the pool certified beggared belief! It would be clearly much easier to just dip a toe in the canal with the bullsharks.
I am sorry that the kiddie drowned. I do however wonder if the mother has also been charged with manslaughter. It seems everyone knew about the pool and the lack of fencing. Seems like extra care might have been in order.
If you take a kid somewhere dangerous, it would be prudent to not take your eyes off them for a minute.Sometimes an accident is just an accident. Sad but true and it should not always be necessary to lay blame.
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Kerrie July 5, 2012
My understanding was that, if you built a pool, you had to fence it. No argument. But when we were having a pool included in our renovations five years ago, the architect told us it was not necessary, as we had a high brick wall with key-locked gates surrounding our property. We disregarded his advice and fenced the pool. Looking at real estate ads in Sydney papers, I’m horrified at the number of unfenced pools. Many inner-city terrace houses fill their backyards with a pool, many of them unfenced, presumably because, like us, they have a wall on three sides. But what happens when you have children visiting and leave the house doors open? It’s not only children who wander in from outside who drown – many of them are family members or friends.
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Lisa July 5, 2012
My husband made a beautiful wrought iron $30k pool fence for a wealthy client. The irony was that her property backed onto a golf course, complete with an unfenced lake, 50 metres or so away from her boundary. I believe pools should be fenced if the yard is not secure but parents really need to watch their children with hawk-eyes. I too have seen kids get into a fenced pool area. Glad I don’t have a pool.
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me July 5, 2012
I have not read previous comments, so please do not hammer me for mine: If my child was suddenly found drowned in a neighbours pool, which was not legally fenced, I would go absolutely mental. So, YES, they are liable!
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Mary Longford July 5, 2012
Yes, it’s negligent. If you have a pool you have a responsiblity to children in the area. We went to a great deal of expense in a former home to fence our pool more adequately than it had been when we bought it. We had no kids but there were kids next door and I wouldn’t have been able to sleep if we’d retained the inadequate fence. An unfenced pool is criminal
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Chris July 5, 2012
Charging the pool owner is as fair as charging the mother for failing to supervise her child as well. Both failures contributed to the death of this child.
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Ann S July 5, 2012
There is negligence four ways here. The council knew from complaints that a pool in their area was reported as not complying with regulations but because no ‘formal’ complaint was recieved they did nothing.
The pool owner knew his fence was not compliant for safety regs and did nothing.
His neighbor knew their shared fence was unsafe with a pool in the next property and they did nothing.
The mum, if she was a regular visitor and knew the property well and knew the fence was broken, should never have let her child out of eyesight. If she was not familiar with the property then all the more reason not to let her child out of her eyesight.
It’s a combination of negligence that has resulted in a heartbreaking tragedy. But the only person who has actually broken a law is the pool owner so he’s copping the blame. I don’t excuse him for an instant but all parties are accountable to some degree and it does not seem right to make ‘an example’ of the pool owner just because the law allows for it.
Ultimately duty of care falls with a child’s parent or guardian and if my toddler drowned while out in the care of a friend/relative then first, last and forever I’d be agonising over whyand how they could let my child wander away unnoticed.
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Lee July 5, 2012
No. He shouldn’t be charged with manslaughter. Can’t some things just fall under tragedy and leave it at that? To live with that death for the rest of his life is really enough.
Additionally, I recently walked around a lake which had a caravan park situated at its’ edge. It would have been so easy for a small child to wander into that lake. And that too, would be a tragedy. -
Royce July 5, 2012
Our farm dams are unfenced. We watch our 3yo grandson like a hawk…..
A bit different I know, because if you choose to have a swimming pool in suburbia.. then you have a deadly trap that needs care. lack of care is criminal. -
birthday girl July 5, 2012
Duty of care parents!! Taught my daughter to swim as soon as she could walk as she has always been around water, especially living in Nth Qld. My pool fence is currently broken – am still waiting for the fence man to repair and in the meantime I have told my local council – they’re cool about it, but I do have a deadline for repairs. The neighbours & I have have a legally-binding signed agreement that if their kids get in I am not liable ‘cos they should be watching their children. Extra 6 foot fence around my property, a noisy dog and padlocked gates, but I still fear the little buggers getting into the pool area because the neighbours have encouraged climbing, but not swimming. My problem? No, but I’ve covered my arse.
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FerrelBerryl July 5, 2012
Birthday girl, whatever agreement you have ‘signed’ with your neighbors is in no way legally binding. This is not America. Australian courts show little regard for limited liability clauses, particularly ones a neighbor drew up to get out of doing the responsible thing, the LEGAL thing, and adequately fencing their pool. If the person you are currently waiting on to fix your fence has left it more than a few weeks CHOOSE SOMEONE ELSE!
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Roger July 5, 2012
Are kids allowed to climb trees these days?
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FerrelBerryl July 5, 2012
They sure are. How is this relevant?
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Alberta July 5, 2012
No he shouldn’t be charged. A secure fence does not stop a child climbing over by pushing something up against it. If a trespasser on our property hurts themselves in some way why should we be liable. I know there is a desire to apportion blame in a tragic situation, but as is said above, it takes more than a few seconds for a child to get from inside the house to drowned in a neighbour’s pool. Would it still be manslaughter if the child drowned in an unfenced goldfish pond?
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Alberta July 5, 2012
No he shouldn’t be charged. A secure fence does not stop a child climbing over by pushing something up against it. If a trespasser on our property hurts themselves in some way why should we be liable. I know there is a desire to apportion blame in a tragic situation, but as is said above, it takes more than a few seconds for a child to get from inside the house to drowned in a neighbour’s pool. Would it still be manslaughter if the child drowned in an unfenced goldfish pond?
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Veronique July 5, 2012
I feel so sad for everyone involved in this tragedy, but what good will charging the pool owner do? How can this wholly be his fault? Does charging him mean that the mother and the neighbour are therefore innocent? This is apparently a common fence, and the neighbour knew there was a pool on the other side, yet said nothing to the mother? Or did the mother already know, yet did not keep the child in sight every second? There are dangers in the world everywhere, and the bottom line is, if you’re a parent, you are ultimately responsible to watch over your child.
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B.K. July 5, 2012
A secure fence might not guarantee the prevention of a child accessing the pool but it might deter them. It MIGHT save their life. Which would be worth it. Again, what is the point of having the legislation if people not complying aren’t going to be made responsible?
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Ro. Watson July 5, 2012
I heard a ghastly story from a social worker about a kid drowning in a nappy bucket….. as a kid I helped with rescue of a near drowning in child’s grandma’s fish pond. Teach kids to swim and be alert to how they enjoy exploring the world….accidents happen
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Viv West July 5, 2012
No. Why not charge the mother with neglect as well. If she had been watching her child and not gossiping to a neighbour, her child would still be alive. It could have been a puddle, a dam or a bucket. Yes the fence should have been maintained but I have a six foot well maintained fence around my property and a pool fence but my neighbour ( with four kids) still puts ladders and stacks of bricks against his side of the fence. Look after your kids and they will stay alive.
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disgusted July 5, 2012
Police at Manilla never bothered to charge the mother whose little 8 year old girl was killed by a bow and arrow and the mother that no fence and her child was killed on he railway line at Ballarat no charges, mum her went to work and left her six months old daughter in the car and she died outside Toowoomba Catholic School and babies in ponds or prams on railway lines always no ones fault.
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Rhoda July 5, 2012
Sorry Wendy…Ultimate responsibilty is the parents…it might temporarily relieve them of some of their guilt by blaming the neighbour but in their own heart and for the rest of their life the parent will know that they should have protected their child.
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kid July 6, 2012
Yes it’s always “a matter of seconds”. Even a full minute is just “a matter of seconds” when you’re busy gasbagging instead of watching your kid in the front yard of a friend’s house. This guy has been negligent but so has the child’s mother. Charge both or neither.
Perhaps charge the Backyard Blitz team for installing at least one unfenced pool in someone’s yard – a couple with two small children, I might add.
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Jo July 6, 2012
Have a look at the picture above of the actual pool before you advocate this mans lack of culpability. Note the disgraceful state of disrepair. The responsibility of pool owners to ensure their pools are safe cannot be diluted by cries of bad parenthood. That is as good as no law at all.
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Lady Jewels Diva July 6, 2012
So it just goes to show, that even if you have a pool fence, a child will always get around it and can still drown!
I understand having a fence around your pool, but this child did not belong to the man who is being charged. This child was not his responsibility, he was the mother’s, if anyone’s to blame it’s her. This was his backyard, and regardless of whether he had a fence or fixed the side fence, as most neighbours don’t, another person’s child is not his responsibility, especially one he did not know, had not invited over, or was not related to, and he should not be charged with it.
God the laws are screwed. Even a trespasser on your property, who’s breaking in and robbing you, can sue you if he gets hurt.
The law is an effing joke!
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Bill July 6, 2012
In response to the Manslaughter charges brought against a pool owner in Armidale last week, where a child wondered into his yard, fell into his pool and drowned.
1. Is this the fault of the pool owner?
2. If the pool was fenced according to law would this have stopped this tragedy?
3. How many children have accessed pools through fences that are council approved?
4. Many children have proved fences are not always a barrier.
5. Do the parents or care givers of children that have drowned get charged for neglect?
6. The one thing that all swim safe organisations stipulates is supervision, knowing where your children are at all times.SUPERVISION IS THE BIGGEST DETERRENT
Charge this pool owner with neglect, charge him for refusing a direction of the council charge him with failing to provide a secure environment within his own premises. But to charge him for the Manslaughter of a child because he did not have a pool fence then the same must go for the parents and or care givers of this child as they, he or she did not provide adequate vigilance/supervision for that child.
Prevention tactics such as education, buoyancy aids & swim safety awareness used to stop these accidents are commendable, however does the charging of a pool owner for manslaughter scare those that have not adhered to the pool fencing laws “to act”, maybe saving countless lives, do we sacrifice this pool owner as a wake up call to all pool owners. Can the same be said for parents/care givers that fail to provide adequate vigilance/supervision can they be charged sending a wake up call to all parents/care givers?
This was an accident, tragic as it is, it was not the intention of the pool owner to see a child drown in his pool nor was it the intention of the parent/care giver to leave their child unsupervised.
If there were no one to blame what a miscarriage of justice this would be!!!
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care for kids October 24, 2012
Police are on the side of the mother. Possibly knows them
as they claim she is not neglectful in letting her child wander which is very strange but Police have strange rules when it comes to mothers when children die. Life imprisonment for all parent/carers when their child drowns and they are not around no matter who you know. Straight to gaol and it will stop most of the drownings. -
Rhoda October 24, 2012
Scary thing, pools. Was walking back from the corner shop one day with two toddlers in tow. Quiet neighbourhood, out of the way, no traffic. So looked and miss 3 was gone, disappeared, nowhere. Panic, ran to nearest gateway. There she was standing on edge of pool in front yard of this house. Must have glimpsed the water as we walked past.
Only take a split second.
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James October 29, 2012
With all such legislation like pool fencing there is the cost to the community versus the cost of implementing the law. Pool fence laws cost the community a very substantial amount in both the actual fences and the policing / certifying costs. In QLD, pool fences may lower infant drowning by 5 to 7 deaths a year (when compared to infant drowning deaths figures pre pool fencing). It is also unknown whether in fact the 5 to 7 less drownings are in fact from learn to swim classes which may be the actual reason for lower infant drowning death rate. Not pool fences at all. In any case, its about half a dozen young lives saved. There is also the aesthetic costs of pool fencing throughout the nation. They are ugly.
For those readers who are right behind this nanny state nonsense, you need to also do the following : get laws to remove the reverse gear from all 4WD cars as reverse over deaths of infants now overtake infant drownings on some years. Fence all rivers and ocean areas as these drownings are also significant in number compared to pool fences. Petition Australians to not holiday in any Asian resorts as these resorts have not only no pool fences – god forbid – they have pools right up to your door. You should also of course not holiday in such places yourself.
And on this subject of Australia becoming a nation of rule and control fanatics – guess how most road-works workers are now killed (the actual stop go workers)- they are run over by their own colleagues. NOT by traffic. Yes – the stop go men are in fact killed by the very workers they are protecting from crazy uncontrollable drivers.
This whole sorry state of affairs where you cant blink without a permit is wrecking life in this country. Really effective and quantitative evidence based measures to save lives like drink driving laws are fine. Pool fence laws and suing councils for tripping over is a society in trouble.
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wondering December 11, 2012
How many of these drownings are actually murder and the Police do not bother to investigate mum. If an autistic child drowns you will never see charges laid. Tears mean nothing you see it on tv when an adult goes missing and the person crying ends up being charged with murder.
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VictoryForCommonSense December 21, 2012
Common sense has finally prevailed in what is a tragic case.
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suspicious January 27, 2013
Best idea is to have a good Police Task Force that really cares for children and thorough investigations to be carried out to see if these alleged drownings were actually accidents or not. I still think if anyone climbs over your fence or wanders into your property the parent or carer of the child should be charged with neglect. All parents with children should have good high fences and well locked gates.
