A new report has revealed strip searches are ineffective in finding drugs, working only 60% of the time. It comes as class action is underway against illegal strip searching in New South Wales.

Council of the City of Sydney

A landmark legal case has brought renewed scrutiny to the use of strip searches by NSW Police, particularly at music festivals. Rea Meredith, who was unlawfully strip searched in 2018, is among over 3,000 people involved in a class action challenging the practice. A recent report revealed that, over a decade, police conducted more than 80,000 strip searches but found illicit drugs in only about 10% of cases. The report also found that drug detection dogs, often used to justify searches, were incorrect 60% of the time.

Advocates and some politicians are calling for a ban on routine strip searches, arguing that the practice is both traumatic and largely ineffective. The report noted that only 1.4% of strip searches led to a drug supply conviction, raising questions about the practice's role in combating illegal drug distribution.

Report reignites debate on strip searches

Rea Meredith is the face of a landmark legal case that's shining a light on one of NSW Police's most controversial powers. In 2018 she was strip searched at Splendour in the Grass in what police have since admitted was not lawful. They found nothing on her. Rea experienced significant shame and significant trauma as a result of that search. It's not something that's easy to speak about. She's far from alone. 3,000 others strip searched at festivals between 2016 and 2022 have joined the class action, which is still awaiting judgement. This is a cruel, unnecessary practice. In fact, a new report has revealed they very rarely pay off. Over a decade, police conducted more than 80,000 strip searches, but illicit drugs were only found in about 1 in 10 cases. Strip searches should only occur in the most exceptional of circumstances. Instead, what we have seen is that they have become routine. It also revealed that where drug detection dogs triggered the search, they were wrong about 60% of the time. Ms Lee claims police have been sitting on the data for years, only made public through Greens MP Kate Fairman. Together, they're calling on our politicians to ban the practice. There's really no alternative. Police are faced with the widespread distribution of illegal substances that, in the right circumstances, can be deadly. Well, certainly a degree of strip searching is necessary. But if the practice is meant to keep illicit substances off our streets, the authors of the report say it isn't working, finding just a fraction, 1.4% of strip searches, led to a drug supply conviction. Time then, perhaps, to face the music. Tallulah Thompson, 10 News.

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