A potential class action against illegal strip searches by NSW Police is seeking victims to tell their stories

28 May 2020 | 12:51 pm | Emma Jones

A potential class action against NSW Police is seeking victims to tell their stories of illegal strip searches.

After an inquiry found a series of strip searches conducted at live music events by NSW Police were unlawful, Redfern Legal Centre and Slater & Gordon have announced they are looking to launch an investigation into the incidents. According to The Music, lawyers are now "asking people who have been unlawfully strip searched by police in the last six years to come forward."

The class action detailed on the Slater & Gordon website said, "Strip searches in NSW have increased over 20 fold in just over a decade. They are traumatic, invasive and harmful procedures that should only be used by police as a last resort. People who have been unlawfully searched have a right to compensation for what has happened to them."

They are encouraging anyone who has had the following experiences during a police search to come forward:

  • You were asked to take off some or all of your clothing
  • You were asked to show or move your bra or underpants
  • Police looked underneath your bra or underpants
  • Police peered into your clothing to see your bra, underpants or parts of your body
  • You were searched after a police drug dog noticed you

The aim of the potential class action is to "achieve justice for people who have been affected and hold the police accountable for their policies and actions."

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Words by Emma Jones

Image by Brian Yap

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