Redfern Legal Centre is working with law firm Slater and Gordon to investigate if it can seek compensation for thousands of people who may have been unlawfully searched in the past six-years.
Ebony Birchall, senior associate at Slater and Gordon, told the ABC that a class action would allow young people and minorities to feel confident about raising complaints.
The law firm pointed to research from the University of New South Wales (UNSW) which showed 20-fold increase in strip-searches over the past decade — a majority of which produced nothing.
"By acting collectively, it makes access to justice easier, particularly as these searches affect marginalised groups," Ms Birchall said.
She said a class action was also an "important accountability mechanism" to interrogate systemic failings of police, which she said included inadequate training and inconsistent procedures.
Becca, who attended the Lost in Paradise festival in 2017, would be one of the people to join the potential landmark case against NSW Police.
The now 25-year-old said she felt "numb all over" and powerless after police told her to undress and squat while she was inspected for drugs.
She claims an officer told her she could refuse consent for the search, but her ticket would be confiscated.
As she was searched in the van, three male police officers stood outside.
"The front window was left uncovered… I could directly see them and they could look in and see me," she said.
Becca alleges an officer asked her if she was on her period and when she said yes she was told: "We still need to do this."
"I felt I had no choice but to comply, otherwise I'd be left stranded in the middle of nowhere, with no way of getting home," Becca said.
A report from the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) last year found some searches were unlawful because officers made no attempt to contact a parent, guardian or support person, as required by law for a person aged under 18.
"Throughout NSW, the direction given to police officers in procedure manuals were providing inconsistent instruction," said Ms Birchall.
An unlawful police search is legally considered an assault.
Read the full article here (ABC News, 27 May 2020)
