The new amendments, first proposed by former Labor Police Minister Paul Whelan and former Liberal Shadow Attorney-General Andrew Tink, allow police to make an arrest if they believe the arrest is “reasonably” necessary when considering the nature of the offence.
The legislative changes are aimed at individuals who would “reasonably” be considered to be responsible for engaging in criminal behavior, but who would escape being charged or arrested under the previous regime because of a lack of clarity about the extent of police powers. However, legal experts suggest that the amendments may encourage poor policing by discouraging police from more skilled and in-depth investigations.
RLC’s Police Powers Solicitor David Porter was quoted by the Sydney Morning Herald as saying, “Under the Bill, police officers will be able to arrest someone where they have no intention of taking them to court for the offence … Even if they only want to give them a $100 fine, they will be able to hold them in custody for hours.”
A primary concern of RLC is that the new legislation would apply to everyone in NSW, but would impact most harshly on those from disadvantaged backgrounds and those with no criminal background at all who may not be able to afford legal representation. RLC staff regularly assist vulnerable people accused of an offence because a police officer did not adequately evaluate the available evidence.
“By continuing to lower the bar for the exercise of police powers, the government is effectively ushering in a generation of police who do not have daily experience of the skilled investigation that is needed to catch the criminal organisations the people of NSW are actually worried about,” said Porter to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Police powers are being reviewed elsewhere in an examination of the oversight of police critical incidents arising out of recent Police Integrity Commission investigations. Commissioned by Premier Barry O’Farrell in September 2013, the review is headed by former Attorney-General Robert McClelland who recently met with RLC’s David Porter to discuss investigation procedures for police-related deaths.
