Luke Moore was exiting Goulburn’s Hibernian Hotel on a Saturday evening, when a group of four police officers asked to speak with him. After an initial pat down search found nothing, the officers went on to strip search the Charles Sturt University law student.
Mr Moore was initially found guilty of hindering police as they attempted to strip search him. However, on appeal, he was acquitted. Now he’s gearing up to sue the NSW police force over what has been ruled an unwarranted strip search.
His case comes at a time when questions are being raised as to the validity of how routine the use of this invasive practise within the community has become over recent years.
Recently, the Redfern Legal Centre commissioned UNSW law academic to produce the Rethinking Strip Searches by NSW Police report. The report co-authors Dr Michael Grewcock and Dr Vicki Sentas found that since 2006 the use of strip searches in the state has increased twentyfold.
The report goes on to recommend an overhaul of strip search laws, which Redfern Legal Centre’s head of police accountability practice Samantha Lee has described as “vague and legalistic”.
“Strip searches have become that much of a part of policing that they don’t consider how violating it is”, Mr Moore said.
Just last week, the NSW Greens justice spokesperson revealed that NSW police is issuing search quotas that local area commands must achieve.
Read the full article here (Sydney Criminal Lawyers, 10 October 2019)
