Two mothers represented by the Justice and Equity Centre have settled trespass cases against NSW Police on confidential terms.
The mothers took their cases to the NSW Supreme Court after police repeatedly attended their homes while their young sons were on bail, often multiple times a day and at all hours of the night. Over 18 months, one family endured 153 visits and the other 59 visits that we argued were unlawful, as there was no court-ordered bail condition authorising home checks by police.
Last year, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission found there is a ‘powerful argument’ that NSW Police cannot lawfully undertake these home checks without court authorisation. The police oversight body noted our Supreme Court cases would determine the lawfulness of the practice if litigated to finality.
The settlements between the mothers and NSW Police were made on mutually agreeable terms three weeks before the cases were due to go to trial.
A separate racial discrimination case, filed by the JEC on behalf of one of these families, remains underway in the Federal Court. That case concerns patterns of police conduct that result in Aboriginal children being significantly more likely to be subject to a home visit while on bail than non-Aboriginal children.
Quotes from Justice and Equity Centre client Megan:
Megan* is a single mother of three boys, living in regional NSW. She and her family were subjected to more than 150 attendances by NSW Police to her home over 20 months. Many visits occurred between midnight and 4am.
‘When I started this case, I just wanted to have police held accountable for what they’ve done to my young fellas and other young fells. I’m glad it’s over now.’
‘After starting the case our interactions with police completely changed. Over the past couple of months, I’ve barely heard from them. And it seems to have changed how they’re interacting with other Aboriginal people and with non-Aboriginal people. I haven’t heard of them doing bail checks the same way. That was the whole point of doing this case.’
‘I know police have a job they need to do. But as parents, we have a job we need to do too – look after our young people.’
‘My eldest is driving around with his head held high now, knowing police can’t just randomly pull him over. But I know he’s still shaking in fear about what they could do. They’ve already done the damage, and it will take a lot for my boys to start trusting police again.’
‘I’m starting to turn back to normal, slowly. But it’s always in the back of my head, when I hear a loud knock, I just instantly think it’s the police straight away. I’ve still got fear in me.
‘It’ll take a long time before our people start trusting police again. Because they’re the law, they can do whatever they want. And they’ve already broken that trust with Aboriginal people.’
Megan and her two sons are being represented by the Justice and Equity Centre in a racial discrimination case against NSW Police, which is underway in the Federal Court.
*Our client’s name has been changed to protect her privacy. The Supreme Court case was subject to a pseudonym order, to protect the identity of the children involved.
Quotes from Kate Sinclair, Solicitor at the Justice and Equity Centre:
‘It’s long past time for NSW Police to stop this oppressive practice. Our clients are not the only families subjected to disruptive and distressing home visits by police. This is an issue across NSW.’
‘It is the clear intention of the law that a court should decide if and when police can check on people at home while they are on bail. We have argued for years that when police enter private property for these checks without court authorisation or a reasonable suspicion someone is breaching bail, they are trespassing.’
‘After we filed the cases, the police watchdog recommended NSW Police stop carrying out these home checks without court authorisation. That should have sounded the alarm for NSW Police.’
‘It was immensely brave for our clients to stand up to NSW Police and demand accountability. They did it for their families and their communities and we respect their courage.’
‘Evidence shows ongoing interactions with police are harmful for children and young people and build distrust in targeted communities. The law puts safeguards in place to avoid harassment by police and those safeguards must be respected.’
‘We will continue making the case that these home attendances are unlawful, including in the Federal Court where we’ve filed a racial discrimination claim for one of these families who believe they were targeted because they are Aboriginal.’
Media and Communications Manager, Dan Buhagiar: 0478 739 280
