In any confrontation with the police, the citizen is at a disadvantage. All the power is in the hands of the police and this is stipulated by law. If you do not cooperate you may find yourself facing a magistrate to answer a charge of " resisting arrest ". That is a delightfully vague definition that is often used as a threat by the police to extract information.
The relentless pressure to shut down the drug trade has resulted in the police gaining a new and very terrifying power. They can opt to carry out a " strip search " and you are required to shed all your clothes and stand naked for a body search. That can include the humiliating requirement that you squat, spread your legs - and cough. The policer are searching for drugs secreted in the natural body cavities.
The outcome of body searches is predominantly " innocence ". No drugs are found and the person searched it allowed to resume their clothes and go on their way. Usually these strip searches are carried out on the crowd entering music festivals where sniffer dogs can indicate candidate selection.
The police are instructed to carry out strip searches with regard to the privacy and dignity of members of the public, but that interpretation can vary widely. To many people the act of stripping naked in front of strangers is something they would normally only endure in a consultation with their doctor.
This police power is now under investigation by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission ( LECC ) and one specific incident being scrutinised occurred in 2018 at the " Splendour in the Grass " music festival at Byron Bay. A sixteen year old girl was selected from the line of people waiting to enter the festival despite the requirement that minors require the presence of a parent or guardian. The police are only able to disregard that requirement when an immediate search is necessary to protect the person or to prevent the destruction of evidence. The law does not allow children under ten to be strip searched.
The LECC will also examine a claim by a 28 year old woman strip searched at a Sydney music festival. She claims that the female police officer threatened to make the search " nice and slow " if she did not reveal the presence of drugs voluntarily. It is often claimed that facial expressions make it obvious that some police get personal satisfaction from their involvement in strip search procedure.
This power to order a strip search certainly puts the choice to inflict personal humiliation into the hands of individual police and often in circumstances where a suitable venue to ensure modesty from other people is not available. The LECC enquiry will determine if this power is being misused and whether further protection changes are necessary.
The use of sniffer dogs is particularly controversial. Often the sight of police and dogs at festival entrances causes patrons with drugs to drop them, allowing the feet of innocent people to be contaminated and this draws the attention of the dogs.
It is obvious that despite this terrifying power to order strip searches, drugs are freely available within music festivals. Perhaps the question to be asked should be : " Do strip searches deliver a significant outcome in preventing drug use at music festivals " ?
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