Guardian Australia revealed on Wednesday that in the last three years police in NSW have strip-searched 122 girls, including two 12-year-olds.
The shocking figures were obtained by Redfern Legal Centre under freedom of information laws and come as the state’s police watchdog investigates the potentially illegal strip-search of a 16-year-old girl at a music festival.
RLC has called for a ban on the strip-searching of minors unless a court order is obtained, saying the current legal thresholds are inadequate.
But Elliot has defended the police’s ability to strip-search minors.
“I’ve got young children and if I thought the police felt they were at risk of doing something wrong I’d want them strip-searched,” Elliott said.
“Having been minister for juvenile justice, we have 10-year-olds involved in terrorism activity.”
Figures released during budget estimates in February showed that in the five years to November 2018 nothing was found in 63% of strip searches, but Elliott said he thought parents would be “pretty happy” if their children were strip-searched and found with drugs.
In NSW, police are permitted to carry out field strip searches only if the urgency and seriousness of the situation requires it. A parent, guardian or support person must be present during the strip-search of a minor, unless it’s necessary for the safety of the person or to prevent evidence being destroyed.
However, the Law Enforcement and Conduct Commission last month heard that some officers did not know their obligation in relation to minors, and in the case of the 16-year-old, there was no justification for initiating the search.
Elliott conceded that police had breached their obligations in some cases, but insisted people who felt they have been wrongly searched could file a complaint.
Read the full article here (The Guardian, 6 November 2019)
