How more than 5,500 Australians ended up with police records despite doing absolutely NOTHING illegal
- More than 5,500 NSW residents have found themselves with police records
- The people had been strip searched by cops but nothing illegal was found
- Redfern Legal Centre acquired the data on strip searches from 2018 to 2020
More than 5,500 people in New South Wales have found themselves with police records after being strip searched by cops – despite nothing incriminating being found.
Redfern Legal Centre acquired data from 2018 to 2020 that showed thousands of people had their information recorded in a police database following a strip search.
But nothing illegal had actually been found from these searches, The Guardian reported.
More than 5,500 New South Wales residents have found themselves with police records after being strip searched by cops – despite nothing incriminating being found (stock)
Of the strip searches documented in the Computerised Operational Policing System, police did not uncover anything illegal in 61 per cent of cases.
There are more than 40 million records recorded in the system, which is regarded as force’s central intelligence database.
Sam Lee, a solicitor at Redfern Legal Centre, said the majority of police strip searches find nothing.
‘We now know that more than half the people needlessly subjected to this traumatic procedure are left with a permanent police record for no reason,’ she said.
‘Once a person’s identity has been logged in the police system, it is there for life.
‘The fact that this is frequently occurring in cases where no crime has been committed is not only unjust, it is a complete misuse of power.’
Redfern Legal Centre acquired data from 2018 to 2020 that showed thousands of people had their information recorded in a police database following a strip search (stock)