The official complaints came from a 16-year-old girl who was left “completely humiliated” after a false drug dog indication led to a strip-search at Splendour in the Grass 2018, and three boys aged between 15-17 who were strip searched at Lost City festival in February 2019.
None of the four searches met the legal requirements under LEPRAs 33(A) that a parent, guardian, or support person be present during the search of a minor.
Despite finding that the strip-searches were conducted unlawfully, the Commission made no findings of ‘serious misconduct’ and did not recommend any prosecutorial action against the officers in question.
These considerations are a far cry from the strong legislative changes many had hoped might be proposed by the LECC. The law’s ambiguous language and loopholes remain dangerous when left in the hands of police discretion according to critics of the practice.
“I think the more vague you leave the legislation, the more discretion police have, and they’ll interpret it as widely as possible,” said Sam Lee, head of police accountability at Redfern Legal Centre.
“Let’s just cut strip-searching of children out altogether, unless they have a court order to do so,” Ms Lee said. “I don’t want to leave police making the ultimate decision about whether to strip search a child or not.”
Testimonies demonstrated an alarming disparity between the individual knowledge of each police officer of their powers dealing with strip-searching children. Of the 30 documented strip-searches conducted during Lost City festival, only five reported the presence of a support person.
Evidence of Computerised Operational Policing System (COPS) entries detailing strip searches, required under s33(A) of LEPRA, exposed a dangerous lack of care taken by NSW police.
COPS entries from both festivals revealed missing or wrongful details required by law, such as why an independent person was not present, the basis for the search, and even the correct identity of the searching officer.
The NSW Police will not comment on specific LECC findings until the final overarching reports are released later this year.
Read the full article here (The Junction, 9 May 2020)
