Discriminatory policing
Media and commentary related to our work in collaboration with First Nations partner organisations to call out discriminatory police practices.
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Prime Minister has the power to ensure children are safe and protected. It’s time for action.
Advice obtained from Senior Counsel by the JEC makes clear that the Commonwealth has the Constitutional power to act on youth justice reform.
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2SER: Discriminatory Patterns in Police Bail Checks of Aboriginal Children
Kate Sinclair spoke about a new report into police bail check data and a racial discrimination complaint we’re bringing to the Australian Human Rights Commission.
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NITV: ACT chooses ‘care over cruelty’ by raising the age of criminal responsibility to 14
JEC CEO Jonathon Hunyor explained why the ACT Government have made the right decision for kids and communities.
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NIT: Aboriginal children routinely over-policed under NSW bail checks, legal group says
New research suggests ‘discriminatory patterns’ in how often NSW Police check on Aboriginal young people while they’re on bail.
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ABC News: Indigenous family takes NSW Police to Human Rights Commission, claiming racial discrimination
The JEC is representing an Aboriginal family at the Australian Human Rights Commission after more than 150 ‘bail checks’ in less than two years.
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Data reveals police bail checks are targeting Aboriginal children, racial discrimination complaints filed
The JEC is representing two Aboriginal brothers in a racial discrimination complaint after they were subjected to more than 150 checks at their home over 20 months.
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NIT: First Nations and disadvantaged children targeted by NSW police during COVID
Our CEO Jonathon Hunyor urged reform of the fines system in the National Indigenous Times.
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SMH: Police visited Megan’s home 153 times in less than two years. Now she is fighting back.
Our major test case against NSW Police was covered in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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Aboriginal and legal groups horrified at secret plan to throw more children in jail
A coalition of Aboriginal and legal organisations says a secret proposal to tighten NSW bail laws for children would make NSW regional communities more dangerous. Multiple government sources have indicated off the record that a proposal to introduce punitive law and order measures – including changes to bail laws that will result in more children…
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ABC News: Report finds NSW Police suspect lists led to ‘gross over-representation’ of Indigenous people
We worked tirelessly to defeat the STMP, which unlawfully targeted First Nations people.
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NSW Police are not closing the gap
A report by the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) into the NSW Police policing and engagement with Aboriginal people and communities is critical of the force’s failure to take seriously its obligations to Close the Gap and reduce Aboriginal over-representation in the criminal justice system. Jonathon Hunyor, CEO of the Public Interest Advocacy Centre, joined…
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Closing the Gap targets would lead to ‘competing duties’: NSW Police Commissioner
The report also confirmed Aboriginal people continue to be significantly over-represented in the application of the Suspect Targeting Management Plan (STMP). Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) has called for reform on the “harmful” STMP programme, including stopping its use on children and youths. PIAC argue once a person is placed on the STMP, they are…
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NSW Police urged to do more in Closing the Gap
The Public Interest Advocacy Centre said in a statement that the LECC’s report ’emphasises that NSW Police need to do more to reduce the stark overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in contact with the criminal justice system.’ The LECC’s review highlighted Aboriginal people are overrepresented in the use of Suspect Target Management Plans, a tool deployed…
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Police must act to close the gap: LECC report highlights discriminatory policing
A new report from police oversight body the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) emphasises that NSW Police need to do more to reduce the stark overrepresentation of Aboriginal people in contact with the criminal justice system. The NSW Police Force Aboriginal Strategic Direction 2018-2023 monitoring report highlights several areas where NSW Police have failed to…
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Aboriginal imprisonment rates through the roof
… The Aboriginal Legal Service ACT/NSW (ALS) and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) have released a joint statement saying the “Government cannot ignore the growing crisis of the imprisonment of Aboriginal people in NSW.” “The increasing number of Aboriginal people in custody shows a disturbing lack of progress in Closing the Gap in NSW,”…
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Over-representation of Aboriginal people in New South Wales prisons “highest on record”
The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT) (ALS) and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC) have released new data showing a “growing crisis of the imprisonment of Aboriginal people” in New South Wales which the government “cannot ignore”. New figures from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) released on Tuesday show the proportion of…
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Proportion of Aboriginal inmates in NSW hit a record 29.7% in February
The proportion of Aboriginal people in prisons across New South Wales has reached a record high, prompting an urgent call from key groups for governments to end the “overpolicing” of Indigenous communities. The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (Bocsar) figures revealed Aboriginal people accounted for a record 29.7% of the state’s adult prison…
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‘Growing crisis’: Record level of Aboriginal people in NSW prisons, new data reveals
The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT), and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), are ramping up their calls for reform to the way Aboriginal people are policed, in light of new figures released by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR) showing the proportion of Aboriginal people in prison is the highest on record. …
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Legal Centres call for all COVID fines to be cancelled, existing fines regime to be reviewed
The NSW Government’s ‘law and order’ response to the pandemic created significant fines debt and damaged community-police relations in some of the most disadvantaged parts of the state, according to a new UNSW Law School report. Click here: UNSW Report The Aboriginal Legal Service (NSW/ACT), Redfern Legal Centre and the Public Interest Advocacy Centre…
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Missed opportunities in NSW Government’s disappointing response to First Nations People in Custody Inquiry
Joint PIAC / Community Legal Centres NSW statement The NSW Government has missed a significant opportunity to take practical action to end Aboriginal deaths in custody, following its rejection of a number of positive initiatives proposed by the Select Committee Inquiry into the High Level of First Nations People in Custody and Oversight and Review…
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PIAC welcomes new report on First Nations incarceration: but action is needed
On the 30th anniversary of the Royal Commission into Aboriginal Deaths in Custody, PIAC has welcomed many of the recommendations of a new Report tabled in NSW Parliament today. The Joint Select Committee on the High Level of First Nations People in Custody and Oversight and Review of Deaths in Custody has handed down 39…
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Legal organisations remain concerned about the impact of secret policy on children and young people
A coalition of NSW legal and social justice organisations have reiterated serious concerns about the application of the NSW Police’s Suspect Targeting Management Plan (STMP) to children and young people. The NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research has today released its evaluation of whether there is an association between the use of the STMP…
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Calls for greater transparency and accountability for secret ‘STMP’ policing policy and its impact on young people
PIAC has welcomed calls by a NSW Parliamentary Committee for greater transparency and accountability in relation to the way the NSW Police Force applies the Suspect Targeting Management Plan (STMP) to children and young people. The STMP is a secret NSW Police policy that has been used by police to single out young people for…
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More than 50% of those on secretive NSW police blacklist are Aboriginal
‘More than half the people on a secretive New South Wales police blacklist are Aboriginal, the state’s top law enforcement officer has revealed.’ ”The NSW police commissioner, Mick Fuller, says about 55% of people who are currently the subject of a Suspect Target Management Plan are Indigenous, prompting accusations that police are using a “racially…