New South Wales Police Force strip search scandal
Policing scandal / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The New South Wales Police Force strip search scandal refers to an ongoing policing scandal surrounding the routine[1] and arbitrary[2] use of strip searches by members of the New South Wales Police Force.
From top left: Ticket Booths inside the police compound at the 2019 Hidden music festival at Sydney Olympic Park; An attendee being stopped by Police at the 2022 Field Day music festival in The Domain; Police and a drug detection dog at the entrance of the 2017 Defqon music festival; Search partitions at Sydney's Central Station during a drug detection dog operation in 2019; A drug detection dog at Parramatta Train Station in 2017; A drug detection dog at Hornsby Train Station in 2019; One of several ticket booths used by police to search patrons during events held at Sydney Olympic Park; An attendee being stopped by police at the Summer Gathering music festival in 2020 | |
Date | 2001–present |
---|---|
Venue | Multiple locations, including music festivals, train stations, licensed venues and police stations |
Location | New South Wales, Australia |
Type | Police misconduct - Improper use of strip searches |
Events | 27835 strip searches conducted in the field (outside of a police station) between July 2014 – June 2020
5659 strip searches resulting from drug detection dog indications (July 2014 – June 2020 data) 6468 strip searches resulting from drug detection dog indications (2009–2017 data) |
Inquiries | Law Enforcement Conduct Commission Inquiry (2018–2020) |
Litigation | Slater and Gordon - Redfern Legal Centre class action (ongoing) |
Particular concern has centred around the use of strip searches "in the field", the term used by NSW Police to describe the practice of conducting strip searches outside of a police station.[3]: 3 Following the introduction of a controversial law in 2001, police in New South Wales were given the power to deploy specially trained drug detection dogs at large scale public events, licensed venues, and on selected routes across Sydney's public transport network.[4]: i In 2006, a review published by the New South Wales Ombudsman found that there were significant issues relating to their use, including civil liberties concerns,[4]: 129–153 false positives,[4]: 55–56 and low rates of accuracy.[4]: iii The report noted that during a two-year period between February 2002 and February 2004, NSW Police had conducted 10,211 personal searches[lower-alpha 1] resulting from positive drug detection dog indications.[4]: 27–30 Most of those searches had either been a pat down or a search of a person's belongings, however in several cases, officers had made the decision to proceed to a strip search. The Ombudsman noted that such incidents were rare at the time.[4]: 139
In late 2014, several stories were published alleging that NSW Police had begun routinely using indications from drug detection dogs as a justification for conducting strip searches. Since that time, the practice has been documented through various news reports and firsthand accounts published on social media. Particular controversy has surrounded the use of strip searches at large scale public events such as music festivals in New South Wales, where in the aftermath of a drug detection dog indication, patrons will typically be escorted to a fenced off compound inside the venue. Inside these compounds, NSW Police have allegedly employed the use of structures such as ticket booths,[5][6][7][8] tents,[9][10][11]: 12 makeshift partitions[1][12][13] and police vans[14][15][16] to conduct both strip searches and less invasive general searches.[lower-alpha 1] In some cases, it has been alleged that these structures did not offer adequate privacy to individuals being searched, leaving them potentially exposed to other attendees or officers outside.[15][19][20] In cases where a strip search has been conducted, patrons have recalled being made to perform tasks such as lifting their breasts or genitals,[21][22][23] bending over,[11]: 4 [16] spreading their buttocks,[24] squatting[5] and in some cases coughing[25][26][27] while either partially or completely naked. Separate reports have also documented similar incidents taking place at train stations and licensed venues across New South Wales during drug detection dog operations as well.[28][29]
Statistical data obtained from NSW Police shows that in the six-year period between 1 July 2014 and 30 June 2020, officers had conducted 27,835 strip searches "in the field". Of that number, 5,659 were recorded as having taken place in the aftermath of a positive drug detection dog indication, with the same figures revealing that an additional 63,302 general searches resulting from the use of drug detection dogs had also been carried out during this period.[18]: 72 Data pertaining to specific events is limited, however at the Splendour in the Grass music festival in July 2018, it was revealed that over the course of two days, officers had carried out 512 personal searches, with 143 of those searches being strip searches.[30] More than 90% of strip searches conducted at the event had resulted in no illicit substances being found.[31]
In October 2018, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, the state's newly established police watchdog, launched a formal investigation into the use of strip searches by NSW Police, citing complaints from members of the public and wider community concerns surrounding the practice.[32] A final report handed down in December 2020 noted that "a recurrent issue throughout the Inquiry was the failure of officers to comply with, or at least to properly account for their compliance with, the legal thresholds for conducting a strip search".[18]: ii The commission also noted that there had been a "significant increase" in the "number and proportion" of strip searches carried out following drug detection dog indications in the five years between 2014 and 2019.[18]: 71 Figures published in the report showed a reduction in the number of strip searches conducted in the field during the first half of 2020, a change that was largely attributed to the cancellation of music festivals in New South Wales due to the COVID-19 Pandemic.[18]: 12, 141