"It's very much a numbers game because the targets cannot be based on genuine assessments of the level of criminal offending in the community and ways in which it should be addressed, it's a political exercise on the part of the police and, consequently, on the part of the government," Mr Cowdery said. The humiliating practice of police directing people to strip naked on their lower half and “squat and cough” must stop. How hard is it to say 'no' to drugs? The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission is currently investigating strip search practices by NSW Police, but when compared to some countries overseas, such as the UK, where police are required by law to provide quarterly public statistics, there is a lot more NSW police can do to ensure that the general public is better informed about the practice of strip searches, and their rights. And these searches resulted in no illicit drugs in 64 percent of cases. Unscrupulous police officers may rely on the fact that the person they are intimidating does not know of, or will not try to use, their rights. recorded reasons why police conduct a strip search (financial year 2018-2019). Former director of public prosecutions Nicholas Cowdery, QC, who is now the president of the NSW Council of Civil Liberties, said the use of targets meant there was "great potential for abuse of power. The Rethinking Strip Searches by NSW Police report, commissioned by RLC, and prepared by UNSW Law academics Dr Michael Grewcock and Dr Vicki Sentas, says that the law is failing to provide police with clear guidance on conducting this invasive search procedure. "A search cannot be conducted if this criteria is not met," the spokesperson said. If they don’t, the search may be unlawful. Drug possession should not be used as a reasonable suspicion for drug supply. New research shines light on sexual violence at Australian music festivals. Read more: Almost half (45%) of all recorded strip searches are of young people 25 years and under. The definition of a strip search should also be made more explicit and include the range of practices currently used by police to aid visual inspections of the body, such as lifting up a person’s shirt, pulling clothing away from the body or the partial removal of clothing. "They would rather you have a 100 no-finds than do three searches and find something because they think there’s some correlation between that and crime going down," the officer, who spoke to the Herald on the condition of anonymity, said. Earlier this year, questions on notice to NSW parliament revealed strip searches in the field (this excludes strip searches in police stations) increased by almost 47% over four years. Yet only 30% of strip searches in the field in the 2017-18 financial year resulted in a criminal charge and almost 82% of all charges are for personal possession of a prohibited drug. Over the four years ending in June 2018, its general use rose by 47 percent, while last year, 11 percent of persons in respect of which a drug detection dog made a positive indication were ordered to remove their clothes.. This includes strip searches of young people at festivals, driven by drug detection dog operations. However, the report found "no evidence that increases in move-on directions and person searches have an immediate suppression effect on burglary, motor vehicle theft and robbery" but that "sustained high levels" of policing could be linked to a fall of up to 3 per cent in these three crimes. Figures revealed under freedom-of-information laws show individual police area commands are set targets for the execution of powers such as searches and move-on orders, as well as addressing an array of crimes, with people in some areas targeted for searches at nearly 13 times the average rate. NSW Police officers carried out 238,923 searches in the 2019 financial year The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission is preparing to release a report on unlawful strip searches at music festivals. The NSW Police Force has nearly doubled the number of strip searches it carries out after positive indications from drug detection dogs. Our findings indicate there are systemic issues about how the law is applied, not simply the misunderstandings of a handful of officers. In 2016, police officers carried out around 590 strip searches after an initial search turned up nothing, while in 2017 the number skyrocketed to 1,124. But only 30% of strip searches end in criminal charges. In a non-policing context, having to perform such non-consensual acts would constitute a serious assault. Read more: And on average, they found nothing 64% of the time. Police suspicion that a person has engaged in drug supply is not recorded as a category of reason for conducting a strip search. Data released after questions in parliament from NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge show the number increased from 3,735 in 2014-15 to 5,483 in 2017-18, an increase of 46.8%. Eighty-two per cent of charges related to drug possession, while only 16.5% were for drug supply, and 1.5% for dangerous weapons. Evidence found as a result of an unlawful or improper search … "The fact that people are being stopped and searched, not to address the circumstances on the ground, but to meet arbitrary quotas, is a dreadful development," he said. UNSW provides funding as a member of The Conversation AU. "If a target is set by superior officers, especially a target that will be relevant to performance assessment, natural human response will be to seek to meet the target by proper or improper means - by fudging, by exercising power where it is not properly warranted," he said. 1. The law needs to clarify what the “seriousness and urgency of the circumstances” that makes a strip search necessary, means. The 2019 report Rethinking Strip Searches by NSW Police, by University of Law academics Dr Michael Grewcock and Dr Vicki Sentas, found that over 2017–18, 5483 strip searches were conducted on the streets and a further 9381 inside police stations. Our research makes recommendations for law reform to better guide police practice. Redfern Legal Centre has released a report, Rethinking Strip Searches by NSW Police. Read more: The internal statistics show police aimed to undertake 241,632 searches in the financial year ending June 2019, an eight per cent rise on the previous year's target. New data obtained by the Redfern Legal Centre via state freedom of information laws revealed that in the past year, NSW police conducted 96 strip-searches on … A NSW Police spokesperson said in a statement that all recruits were taught how to undertake a strip search and further training was provided throughout their career. Even if police did not find any incriminating evidence during an illegal strip search, you may still wish to make a formal complaint to the NSW Ombudsman or pursue legal proceedings for assault. The law in some states is just as permissive of police, if not more so, than in New South Wales. Police conducted 2200 extra searches on top of their set target in Auburn, the equivalent of 37 per cent more. Number of strip searches conducted between 1 January 2018 and 1 January 2019. NSW Police and other state police can provide routine data on how they exercise their powers, and it is in the public interest that they do so. It should be noted that the figures relate to the number … Senior Lecturer, Criminal Law and Criminology, UNSW Law, UNSW. A strip search booth used at festivals. Six reasons Australia should pilot 'pill testing' party drugs. According to NSW Police data, 91% of strip searches conducted in the 2018-2019 financial year were for suspected drug possession. New South Wales has a strip-search problem. NSW police were told they had to carry out hundreds of THOUSANDS of strip searches in 12 months to meet quota. These include restrictions to strip searches in the field by offence type or post-arrest, repeated advice that only general searches should be used, and mandatory safeguards for privacy, without exceptions. NSW Greens member David Shoebridge requested the strip-search data from NSW Police. NSW Police aimed to conduct almost a quarter of a million personal searches last year as part of a quota-driven system. That’s a failure rate of almost 65 per cent. Statistics - Discharges of firearms by NSW police officers and civil claims made against the NSW Police Force involving the use of firearms. “It is particularly troubling that thousands of these quota-driven searches are in fact strip searches with all the distress and trauma that they can bring.". The revelations, coupled with the rising number of strip searches, has prompted the Redfern Legal Centre to call for the commission to investigate whether there is a correlation between the two. The Northern Territory and Western Australia have few limits on police search powers. (PDF, 1.1 MB) 13/03/2019. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission is preparing to release a report on unlawful strip searches at music festivals.Credit:James Alcock. Search type 2018-19 2019-20 The police spokesperson said under state law officers must hold a reasonable suspicion when executing searches. Full Release. Write an article and join a growing community of more than 125,400 academics and researchers from 3,992 institutions. But in NSW, agencies have already begun to investigate the unlawful use of strip searching. Pallavi Singhal is a data journalist at The Sydney Morning Herald, NSW Police personal search targets revealed. Our study found the law regulating strip searches in New South Wales was not strong enough to protect people’s rights and keep police accountable for unlawful strip searching. The key issue is with how police understand the requirement that a strip search only be used in serious and urgent circumstances. We’re sorry, this service is currently unavailable. 120 people have been strip-searched in NSW since the start of the year. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission is investigating strip search practices by NSW Police. The lowest proportional targets were for Quakers Hill and Ryde, set at less than one search for every 100 people. The key issue is with how police understand the requirement that a strip search only be used in serious and urgent circumstances. Six reasons Australia should pilot 'pill testing' party drugs, Drug laws on possession: several countries are revisiting them and these are their options, New research shines light on sexual violence at Australian music festivals, “seriousness and urgency of the circumstances”, Three Charts on who uses illicit drugs in Australia. Being strip searched by the police can be intrusive, humiliating and harmful. Of these initial searches, 1124 escalated into full-on public strip searches and 718 of these found absolutely nothing. Recent figures obtained by NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge reveal the number of strip searches in NSW has increased from 3735 in 2014-15 to 5483 in 2017-18. Young women aged … NSW Police Minister David Elliott says he would want officers to strip-search his children, after new data reveals 122 underage girls had been subjected to the practice since 2016. The number of strip searches conducted by NSW Police. In 2018, there were 329 strip searches carried out by police on people aged 20 years old in New South Wales, Australia. The spokesperson said police had a business plan target for executing those powers, which was calculated each financial year using a three-year average of incidents. Commissioned by RLC and prepared by Dr Michael Grewcock and Dr Vicki Sentas from the University of UNSW Law School, it proposes modest but critical amendments to strip search laws. And reported experiences of being strip searched raise urgent questions about the legality, fairness and harmful effects of the practice in NSW. But there are helpful elements of the regulatory frameworks in South Australia, Victoria, the ACT, Tasmania and Queensland. But the law provides no other criteria to guide police. There is no single model of best practice in Australia. Strip searches are meant to only be used by officers if they suspect, on reasonable grounds, that it’s necessary “for the purpose of the search” and there are “serious and urgent” circumstances that make it necessary. Vicki Sentas was commissioned on a pro-bono basis by Redfern Legal Centre’s Safe and Sound Campaign for the study discussed in this article. Criminal charges from strip searches • 30 percent of all strip searches conducted in the field result in charges (2017-2018). The Herald calculated the search rates in proportion to the total number of people registered as living within each police district at the last census. More than 120 girls under the age of 18 have been strip searched by NSW Police since 2016, data obtained under freedom of information laws has revealed. NSW Police aimed to conduct almost a quarter of a million personal searches last financial year as part of a quota-driven system slammed as a politically motivated "numbers game" by the state's ex-top prosecutor. A Herald analysis of the data revealed Kings Cross area command had one of the highest targets in 2019 with almost 8800 searches, the equivalent of 44 searches for every 100 people living in the area. And in June 2019, an internal NSW Police analysis reportedly disclosed concerns that strip searches were being conducted unlawfully, and about the lack of clarity around key laws. When conducting a strip search police must comply with the legislative requirements under the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (NSW) (‘LEPRA’). And now the evidence is in. A NSW Police spokesperson said the targets were part of various "proactive strategies as part of an ongoing commitment to reducing crime and the fear of crime in the community.". Drug laws on possession: several countries are revisiting them and these are their options. Strip searches, of which almost 5700 took place in the 2018 calendar year, require officers to meet a higher legal threshold than general searches, which range from a frisking to asking someone to remove outer layers of clothing. NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge, who obtained the information, said personal searches could be traumatising and were only meant to be undertaken when police were satisfied they were necessary. University of NSW researchers found the number of field strip searches in the state jumped to 5483 in 2017/18 from just 277 between December 2005 and November 2006 - an increase of NSW … According to NSW Police data, 91% of strip searches conducted in the 2018-2019 financial year were for suspected drug possession. If you do end up needing to defend a charge resulting from a strip search, the court may determine whether the search was conducted lawfully or not. Obtained by Redfern Legal Centre from NSW Police Force under the Government Information (Public Access) Act 2009 (NSW). It is an unlawful cavity search that only a court should be able to order as a “forensic procedure”. Police patrol outside Field Day at The Domain on New Year's Day. LECC Investigation of NSW Police Force Strip Search Following a number of specific complaints and anecdotal information from a variety of community organisations, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) is investigating the use by police officers of powers to conduct strip searches under the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (LEPRA). (Contrary to the police commissioner’s belief, a strip search is not taking off your socks and shoes). But strip searches are on the rise in New South Wales. We argue strip searches should only be considered if police have a reasonable suspicion of a dangerous weapons offence, or drug supply offence and there is an imminent risk to personal safety. This is an increase of nearly 47 per cent. Our research on the law also looked at strip search data obtained from a freedom of information request and from the Redfern Legal Centre. The Coronial Inquest into the deaths of six young people at music festivals in NSW is questioning police use of strip searches. Copyright © 2010–2021, The Conversation US, Inc. It’s the legislation that contains NSW police strip search powers. The data, obtained by the Redfern Legal Centre under freedom of information laws, reveals that since 2016 there have been 11,304 strip-searches conducted by police on men in … Please try again later. Angus Thompson is an Urban Affairs reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald. One serving leading senior constable said there was pressure from commanders, especially on junior officers, to record more incidents, describing the justification for doing so as "absolute garbage". On its own, possessing a drug doesn’t give rise to the serious and urgent circumstances required in law to justify a strip search. But there are also long standing concerns about the overuse of personal searches, including strip searches, against Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. 5944. While we did not have access to the narrative accounts that police are meant to provide in the NSW Police database (COPS), these figures alone suggest routine unlawful practices. The police spokesperson said "proactive" policing strategies, such as using personal search and move-on powers, "have been proven to significantly drive down crime", citing a recent Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research report. The search target for 2019-20 is 237,089. NSW law allows a strip search to be used if it is "necessary for the purpose of the search" and must be "in serious and urgent circumstances that make it necessary". The law regulating strip searches in NSW is not strong enough to keep police accountable and protect people’s rights. Three Charts on who uses illicit drugs in Australia. The figures, which include but do not distinguish between strip searches being conducted, come as the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission, the state's independent police oversight body, prepares to release its report into officers breaching search powers following public revelations of teenagers being illegally strip searched. The data is current at 03/08/2020. Data shows that over the four years to June 2018, of the close to 19,000 strip searches that were conducted statewide, illegal items were found in only 64 percent of cases. NSW police use of strip searches hasn’t just risen in recent times, but almost become routine. Populations were divided evenly where the same postcode was served by multiple police districts. GIPA 2019-3393 – Strip search request The data in this request has been extracted from the NSWPF Computerised Operational Policing System (COPS) via EDW. … The report finds that unlawful strip searches are widespread and drug detection dogs may be propelling unnecessary strip searches. Read more: Statistics obtained in NSW parliament in July last year revealed that the employment of strip searches following a dog indication had doubled from 590 in 2016 to 1,124 in 2017. Across Australia, there is little accountability or transparency around police search practices. But only 30% of strip searches end in … All following data relates to the 2018-19 and 2019-20 financial years. Strip searching raises serious police accountability concerns. Michael Grewcock was commissioned on a pro-bono basis by Redfern Legal Centre’s Safe and Sound Campaign for the study discussed in this article. It reveals officers conducted 5,362 strip searches during the 2018-19 financial year, from which 3,546 did not result in a prohibited drug, dangerous article or item being found. But Mr Cowdery described relying on the calculations as a "false exercise". There are recent examples of people being forced to strip in public view, of police not following their own internal guidelines, and of strip searches triggering the trauma of sexual assault. The following data has been sourced from the NSW Police Force COPS database relating to strip searches conducted in the field, for any reason. The data, which was acquired by the Redfern Legal Centre through a freedom of information request, reveals that since 2016, there have been about 3,919 strip-searches by police on women in NSW. According to NSW Police data, 91% of strip searches conducted in the 2018-2019 financial year were for suspected drug possession. ", Police patrol outside Field Day at The Domain on New Year's Day.Credit:Sydney Morning Herald. Full Release. Ten per cent of all strip searches in the field, and 22% of all strip searches in police custody in a station, are of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We found that strip searches increased from used 277 times in 2005-2006, compared to 5483 in 2017-2018, an almost twentyfold increase in fewer than 12 years. The data, obtained by the Redfern Legal Centre, reveals that since 2016 there have been 3,919 strip-searches by police on women in NSW. The New South Wales (NSW) police in Australia have performed strip-searches on more than 100 girls in the past three years, according to new data.. This is in stark contrast to the UK, where the police are required by law to provide quarterly public statistics. But only 30% of strip searches end in criminal charges. 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