MEDIA RELEASE
Monday 1 July 2024
New data on Aboriginal people’s complaints about NSW Police shows that officers are rarely being held to account over allegations of misconduct.
The independent police watchdog published an analysis of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people’s complaints against NSW Police between January 2021 and June 2022, revealing an investigation occurred for only 66 out of 245 complaints triaged by police (27%).
The police watchdog assessed 279 complaints in the period, only investigating seven complaints directly and monitoring the NSW Police Force’s investigation of three. The vast majority of complaints were investigated by police themselves. The most common complaint was over police use of force.
“We welcome the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission’s commitment to transparency by releasing this data, but we are deeply concerned by what the data shows about police accountability mechanisms and how they are letting down Aboriginal people in NSW,” said Lauren Stefanou, Principal Solicitor (Justice Projects, Policy & Practice) at the Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) Limited (ALS).
“Robust and independent police oversight is critical to a functioning system. It’s also an important pathway towards repairing community-police relationships and Closing the Gap,” Ms Stefanou said.
The NSW Police Force upheld only 18% of allegations made against police by Aboriginal people, with recommended consequences including counselling, warning notices and disciplinary transfer. No instances were recorded of police being relieved of their duties after a complaint was sustained against them.
“The fact that so few police officers who have committed misconduct face consequences for their actions is a deterrent to making complaints. Police have a critical role to play in Closing the Gap and there must be stronger accountability for police who misuse their powers,” Ms Stefanou said.
Aboriginal people, especially children and young people, are grossly overrepresented as targets of punitive police powers like strip searches and excessive use of force. The fact that so few complaints were received from or on behalf of Aboriginal people over 18 months shows that the complaints system must be made more accessible for Aboriginal communities.
The ALS welcomes the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission’s announcement that this report will be the starting point for discussions with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander community-controlled organisations and communities about opportunities to improve the watchdog’s collection, access, management and use of data about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples. We look forward to engaging with the Commission as a member of the NSW Coalition of Aboriginal Peak Organisations.
ENDS
Media contacts:
Alyssa Robinson [email protected] 0427 346 017
Bart Denaro [email protected] 0427 950 312
Both Alyssa and Bart can also be contacted at [email protected]
The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission’s Analysis of complaints made by or on behalf of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – An Observations Paper can be found online: https://www.lecc.nsw.gov.au/prevention/prevention-reports/analysis-of-complaints-made-by-or-on-behalf-of-aboriginal-and-torres-strait-islander-people-an-observations-paper
