Class action from more than 3,000 group members argues vast majority of strip-searches at music festivals between 2018 and 2022 were unlawful
The New South Wales police force knew drug detection dogs only have a “30% hit-rate” but continued to use them as the primary justification to strip-search people at music festivals, a court has heard.
The revelation came amid closing arguments for a class action in the NSW supreme court, where lawyers for the plaintiffs have argued the vast majority of strip-searches conducted by state police between 2018 and 2022 at music festivals were unlawful.
The class action was brought by Slater and Gordon Lawyers and the Redfern Legal Centre against the state of NSW over allegedly unlawful strip-searches conducted by police, including of children.
And nearby, in NZ, we have drug testing tents inside festivals to ensure you’re getting what you expect, as well as advice on staying safe.
Orange slices! Lots of orange slices on hand, man!
Just legalize drugs and these cops would lose 90% of their abusive powers.
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Are those things only illegal if you snort coke?
I think driving like a nutjob and harassing people is already against the law though :)
This differentiation is a bit arbitrary. Cocaine is a “natural” compound. So is opium. Natural psychedelics include salvia and other rather nasty stuff. LSD is not natural but synthesized from precursors that are easier to make naturally. Alcohol is made naturally too.
A drug being “synthetic” or “natural” has no principal bearing on its risks and safety. Same goes for all medicinal drugs.
People getting high at a festival seems less worse than innocent people/children getting sexually molested for no reason, but that’s just me.
I assure you that police prefer fondling them to letting them live their lives.
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I forgot we no longer live in a world where absurd statements are assumed to be typos, so I’ve gone back and corrected my post
Doesn’t matter where you live…ACAB.
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I grew up there.
It’s got nothing to do with “scaredy cat” cops.
They love their power, that’s all it is.
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Mind-boggling to even think of being strip searched on the way into a festival. Granted my experience is mostly US, but I’ve been to Glastonbury and that was chill.
Meanwhile naked burners is a thing
It’s mostly because of media lies to the general public, and also because there have been some really sad OD’s at these festivals, especially in my region of NSW, which is Northern Rivers/Rainbow Region. The cops here also go after teenagers on escooters tons.
I’m impressed by the ability of the dogs to strip search people since they don’t have opposable thumbs.
They could shred clothing with their teeth though
I feel like I’d have a higher hit rate and my nose sucks.
These dogs could absolutely be much better, but the police prefer to have half trained dogs so they can justify using them as a pretext to harass people.
Sort of. They would be liable to alert on people who HAD consumed drugs earlier or had been around people that had consumed drugs. Furthermore it has been shown in a scientific study that dogs alert in part based on their owners suspicion even when not deliberately signaled to do so and since such suspicion is liable to fall on minorities just serves to justify the dogs masters pre-existing judgement.
You’re correct that the police like having the dogs as a pretext to search on flimsy/non-existent evidence, but it’s not that the dogs are half-trained; they are very well trained to give false positives based on the officers’ body language and attitude.
Remember to moan with pleasure during the strip search. Ask if they’re single. Touch yourself. Smile seductively. Have fun with it.
Disgusting that police hire children and then let them conduct strip searches.
