NSW Strip Search: The powers granted to police officers to conduct strip searches in New South Wales are among the most intrusive in Australian law. Intended for use in exceptional circumstances, these powers have increasingly been used at music festivals and public events, often without the legal basis required.
Now, a class action against the NSW Police is challenging that misuse. In a recent video interview, Peter O'Brien, Principal Solicitor of O'Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors, offers expert legal commentary on this unfolding case and the broader issues it exposes.
NSW Strip Search: A Class Action That Exposed the Truth
A landmark class action is splashed across headlines. The case centres on thousands of unlawful strip searches, many carried out at music festivals on young people, often without privacy, lawful grounds, or procedural safeguards.
Peter O'Brien calls the NSW Police's conduct in the case "deeply troubling", particularly their last-minute admission that they had no lawful basis for the strip search of lead plaintiff Raya Meredith.
"This wasn't a one-off failure," O'Brien says.
What the Law Actually Requires
Under the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002 (LEPRA), police can only conduct a strip search:
- If they havereasonable groundsto suspect it's necessary, and
- If the situation is both serious and urgent, especially when the search is not at a police station.
But the law is vague. Terms like reasonable grounds and seriousness are not clearly defined, which has left too much room for subjective, and sometimes unlawful, interpretation.
As O'Brien explains:
"We're seeing these searches done routinely, based on drug dog indications that are wrong 50% of the time.'."
Systemic Failures: What the NSW Strip Search Case Reveals
The class action unearthed troubling patterns:
- Searches conducted without privacy, or in front of opposite-sex officers
- Minors searched without a guardian present
- A pattern of using sniffer dog indications as sole justification, despite poor accuracy
Why Strip Search Reform Is Urgently Needed
Peter O'Brien and many other legal experts believe it's time for meaningful reform. The current laws are not serving the public or the police. Instead, they've led to:
- Widespread rights violations
- Public mistrust of police
- Costly and avoidable litigation
O'Brien supports a number of key changes:
- Restricting strip searches to serious offences only (like drug supply, not simple possession)
- Establishing clearer definitions in the legislation to guide police discretion
- Implementing stronger oversight and independent accountability mechanisms
Why This NSW Strip Search Case Matters
As the class action draws national attention, it's doing more than seeking damages for those affected. It's challenging a culture of overreach and calling for a rebalancing of police powers with individual rights.
For O'Brien Criminal & Civil Solicitors, cases like this reflect what the firm stands for:
"We exist to hold institutions to account. When the police exceed their powers, we're here to make sure the law - and the public - push back," says O'Brien.
Whether through class actions, civil litigation, or public advocacy, the path forward is clear: strip searches must return to being the rare exception, not the norm.
Want to know your rights when it comes to a NSW Strip Search?
Visit our Police Accountability page for clear, practical information, or contact us for confidential advice.
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