FDS Insight Newsletter Jul-Sep 2020

19 Police strip-searches of festival teens were ‘unlawful’ inquiry finds Lars Brandle, The Industry Observer (11/5/20) string of strip-searches by NSW cops on under-aged festival- goers weren’t just objectionable and unpleasant, they were ‘unlawful,’ a police watchdog has said. An independent inquiry has handed down its findings into the roles of behaviour of police at a pair of music festivals, which left several children traumatised by the experience and put a dent in the reputation of law enforcement. The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) was launched after NSW police conducted strip- searches on children as young as 15 at Splendour in the Grass in 2018 and the Lost City Music Festivals in 2019. The inquiry found police acted outside of the rules and, in some cases, officers operated without the requisite training. The investigation heard one particularly troubling incident involving a 16-year-old female who was forced to strip naked and squat during SITG, and who later described her humiliation at her treatment. The LECC also handed down its findings connected with the searches of three teen boys, aged 15 to 17, at the Lost City Music festival at Homebush. All four searches were found to be unlawful because officers made no attempt to contact a parent, guardian or support person, as is required by law for a minor. Also, officers at both events were found to not have sufficient knowledge of the rules for strip-searching under the Law Enforcement Powers and Responsibilities Act (LEPRA), and ten of the 11 officers who gave evidence for the provide had never previously strip searched a child. NSW Police at a music festival The LECC’s final report on is due later this year and, according to the ABC, the probe stopped short of making any findings of misconduct against any of the officers under investigation. ‘Let’s hope our governments start to see all the changes needed on how police can work with rather than against patrons, festivals and public health services like pill testing,’ reads a A