Following the judgment for the music festival strip searches class action in the Supreme Court last week, Slater and Gordon lawyers have announced that they are investigating a further class action into unlawful strip searches conducted by NSW Police.
Justice Yehia made clear that the threshold for conducting a strip search in NSW is very high, and in many cases would not be met by mere suspicion of drug possession or an indication by a police drug dog that a person may have drugs on them.
The judgment made clear that strip searches were only to be used by Police in serious and urgent circumstances.
Slater and Gordon Senior Associate in Class Actions William Zerno said:
“As a result of the judgment, Slater and Gordon is now investigating a second class action into any unlawful strip searches – not just at music festivals – that were conducted by the NSW Police on their suspicion of drug possession, in locations other than Police Stations.
“The current class action relates to strip searches undertaken by NSW Police at music festivals from 2016-2022.
“Now that the Supreme Court has found that strip searches may be unlawful if they are based on the mere suspicion of drug possession or a police drug dog indication, this means strip searches undertaken in other settings may also have been unlawful.
“You may be a group member in a new claim if you were strip searched by the NSW Police in the last six years under circumstances where the Police stated they believed you had illegal drugs on you.
“If so, we encourage you to visit our webpage to subscribe for updates.”
Slater and Gordon has urged the NSW Government to commence negotiations to settle the Festival Strip Search Class Action.
Media contact: Rebecca Nicholson 0409 216053