Submission to the LECC on bail compliance checks in NSW

We made a submission to the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission’s consultation on its Bail compliance checks in NSW – Issues Paper. The Commission called for responses on the efficacy, appropriateness, and lawfulness of police practices around bail compliance checks, due to the number of complaints and concerns raised by external stakeholders about the legality of these practices.

For many years, the JEC has raised concerns about the lawfulness of police bail compliance checks (conducted in the absence of or in excess of a court-ordered enforcement condition), advocating that meaningful safeguards on the practice are essential. 

Our submission explained that current policy is leading NSW Police officers to engage in unlawful conduct, entering or remaining on private property in excess of lawful authority to do so.

In addition, we noted our concerns that:

• current practice is improperly discriminatory in its effect, with bail compliance checks being disproportionately conducted on First Nations people, particularly for First Nations young people; 
• the frequency and timing of bail compliance checking is often unreasonable, unjust or oppressive in its effect on the person on bail, without due regard to the purposes for which the bail conditions exist; 
• by engaging in excessive bail compliance checking on young people particularly, NSW Police are prioritising policing strategies that tend towards increased interactions with the criminal justice system; and 
• excessive and oppressive bail compliance checks on young people have an intrusive and disruptive impact on them and their families, impeding rehabilitation efforts.