News and Events

The NSW Government has recently passed four new bills, all of which will function to increase police powers while further restricting the rights of NSW citizens

RLC police powers solicitor David Porter was interviewed by The Guardian following legislation passed by the NSW upper house on 4 May 2016. These new bills grant police the power to treat minor offences as serious crimes, shut down public gatherings and impose individualised control orders, which seriously restrict the rights and liberties of individuals. 5 May 2016 - The Guardian Paul Farrell "This isn’t a question of the gradual erosion of equality before the law – the passing of these bills means it is gone," Porter said. "These new bills introduce public safety orders that are not about safety, but about control. They are about shutting down all sorts of public events, from protests to footy finals." "We can expect these serious crime prevention order applications to be substantially based, and determined, on secret police intelligence and evidence that police say cannot be shown to the person or their lawyer. In addition, the orders which will control the next five years of a person’s life, are determined on a lower burden of proof than normally applies in criminal proceedings." Read the article on The Guardian website.

Complaints of alleged ‘online abuse’ by NSW Police towards Greens MP Jenny Leong have been made to the Police Integrity Commission. 14 April 2016 - Alt Media Christopher Harris

6 April 2016 The NSW Police Force has announced it will increase its roadside drug tests threefold by 2017, raising its numbers from 32,000 to 100,000 roadside tests annually.

City of Sydney Council has proposed the scrapping of 62 of the 399 alcohol-free zones (AFZs) across the City of Sydney's local government area. In response to NSW Police Force's objections, Redfern Legal Centre's police powers solicitor David Porter spoke to The Daily Telegraph about the benefit of removing AFZs.

A renewed push for the New South Wales Police pursuit policy to be reviewed has been put forward by legal advocates in the wake of a fatal police chase in Sydney's west. The call comes after the death of three women in their 20s at Marayong in Sydney's West on Saturday when the car they were in crashed, seconds into a pursuit.

RLC senior solicitor David Porter was interviewed by ABC Radio regarding the delay in updating the NSW Police Force's Safe Driving Policy, having recently represented the family of a young man who died in the course of a high-speed police pursuit at a coronial inquest.

16 December 2015 It has been five years since the NSW Police Force was tasked with improving the safety of police, drivers, passengers and innocent bystanders with a policy review of its Safe Driving Policy. NSW is still waiting for its release.

16 December 2015 RLC senior solicitor David Porter was able to bring a case-based, legal advocate’s perspective to the Police Integrity Panel at the recent Australian Public Sector Anti-Corruption Conference in November.

The NSW Government has released the Tink Review of Police Oversight, which recommended a series of structural changes to police oversight in NSW.