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Policing biosecurity: police enforcement of special measures in New South Wales and Victoria during the COVID-19 pandemic
Read moreThe first research paper using data from the national COVIDPolicing.org.au monitoring project has now published.
The authors, Louise Boon-Kuo , Alec Brodie , Jennifer Keene-McCann , Vicki Sentas & Leanne Weber seek to identify the potential impacts of COVID policing in relation to everyday street policing in NSW, the policing of public protests in NSW and Victoria and the…
December 9, 202001Lawyer X inquiry calls for sweeping change to Victoria Police, but is it enough to bring real accountability?
Read moreThere have been a series of reviews and inquiries into Victoria Police over the past two decades. They have pointed to deficiencies in its management of informants, along with broader issues related to culture and leadership. Despite this, the royal commission findings reflect many of the same issues.
If things are to substantially change, however, reforms need to extend beyond…
December 1, 2020- November 30, 2020
OC FOAM CLASS ACTION – IMARC Protests 2019
Read morePhi Finney McDonald and Flemington Kensington Community Legal Centre’s Police Accountability Project are investigating a potential class action against the Victorian State Government for Victoria Police’s use of pepper spray against protesters at the International Mining and Resources Conference (IMARC) in Melbourne between 29 and 31 October 2019.
Read more here.
November 26, 2020Urgent scrutiny of police powers and access for legal observers at Djab Wurrung sacred trees protest
Read moreHuman rights and legal organisations have condemned a police operation targeting Djab Wurrung protestors who are protecting sacred Djab Wurrung trees in Victoria and are calling for urgent scrutiny of police powers and access for legal observers to monitor police actions during the protest.
October 27, 2020Victorian Government must respond to IBAC’s calls for critical resourcing.
Read moreIBAC Commissioner, The Honourable Robert Redlich AM, QC, has made the strongest calls yet for adequate government resourcing of Victoria’s Independent Broad Based Commission against Corruption (IBAC).
In his message released this morning,(15/10/2020) Redlich says “It is deeply concerning that IBAC’s budget has remained largely static since we were founded. This means that today IBAC cannot investigate a significant number…
October 15, 2020How close is Victoria to having independent investigations of police misconduct?
Read moreSo, where is the push to get independent investigations in Victoria up to at the moment?
For the past two years the Andrews government has been sitting on an important report that recommends a system that could independently investigate serious police corruption and misconduct.
The government was supposed to respond to this report within six months. So why such…
October 9, 2020Independent Investigations Policy Briefing
Read moreVictoria requires a fully independent system to investigate serious incidents of alleged police misconduct, human rights abuses and complaints.
We urge the Victorian Parliament to, taking into consideration our concerns outlined above, swiftly legislate to implement all 69 of the recommendations contained in the ‘Inquiry into the external oversight of police corruption and misconduct in Victoria’ Report.
September 30, 2020Our ten key concerns with policing under Stage 4 restrictions
Read moreThese new Stage 4 restrictions in Victoria are important to slow the spread of COVID 19 and we recommend people follow the CHO directions. Yes, you should wear a mask, stay home and abide by thee new public health restrictions.
How these restrictions are policed however, is a huge area of concern and warrants scrutiny and debate.
Here are…
August 7, 2020The Victorian Government must end discriminatory measures and withdraw hundreds of police from public housing
Read moreLegal and human rights groups condemn the heavy-handed, policing response to a public health emergency, rather than the much-needed support communities need to prevent COVID-19 transmission. We stand in solidarity with the 3000 people in hard lockdown.
The deployment of hundreds of police and the coercive measures across public housing estates in North Melbourne and Flemington is a discriminatory response…July 7, 2020Remove police from public health responses
Read moreThe Police Accountability Project is calling for the immediate withdrawal of police from the public housing estates experiencing the hard COVID lockdown in Flemington and North Melbourne.
We call on government, DHHS and all agencies to abide by the principle of ‘Do No Harm’ in that all health responses to this pandemic should not cause additional harms.
July 5, 2020Systemic racism, violence, and the over-policing of minority groups in Victoria
Read moreRisk-based tactics like pre-emptive breaking up of groups, close monitoring of known offenders, and unjustified police stops all translated into perceptions of unfair targeting by young people interviewed from these communities.
June 25, 2020In support of #BLACKLIVESMATTERAUSTRALIA
Read moreThe Police Accountability Project, run by the Flemington Kensington Community Legal Centre is united in its support for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities and people across the world fighting to dismantle a justice system which is inherently racist and discriminatory.
June 12, 2020About the call for COVID-19 Stop data monitoring scheme
Read moreThe stories coming through the covidpolicing website only give us snapshots of what is going on, but these sometimes disturbing accounts and the questions they raise have given urgency to the call for a comprehensive police-stop data monitoring scheme. When many thousands of COVID-19 stops are being made by police every day, it is only the police’s own…
May 11, 2020‘Data-driven policing: The hardwiring of discriminatory policing practices across Europe’
Read moreNew technologies such as facial recognition, video surveillance systems, body worn cameras, automatic number plate recognition and social media monitoring are used to collect data which is then used to create and analyse trends in crime. These trends become the foundation for policing practices that aim to predict and prevent people who are likely to commit crime and…
May 6, 2020IBAC findings fail to build trust and leave many questions unanswered
Read moreThe IBAC have released a summary of findings into its inquiry about serious injuries caused by police in a bungled arrest of an innocent man. This followed a raid by the police Critical Incident Response Team (CIRT) on the Hares and Hyenas bookshop on 19 May 2019. The findings are not legally binding and do not provide a…
April 20, 2020Policing the Pandemic
Read moreAs Victoria escalates its crisis response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Victoria Police must ensure its police responses are aligned to the current circumstances and do not infringe upon the health, human rights and dignity of Victorian residents and visitors.
There is urgent need to reduce the number of people coming into contact with the criminal legal system during this unprecedented…
March 29, 2020Australia’s first police complaints chatbot
Read moreAustralia’s first police complaints chatbot has been launched by Josef Legal, Robinson Gill and ourselves to help people take the first step of making a formal complaint about police misconduct in Victoria.
The Police Complaints Chatbot is designed to assist people in Victoria making a complaint to either Independent Broad-based Anti-corruption Commission (IBAC) or Victoria Police regarding alleged police…
March 11, 2020Peer Advocacy Team finalists in national anti-racism award
Read moreA team of young advocates against racial profiling by Victoria Police is a finalist in the 2019 Racism: It Stops with Me Award. The winners were announced at the National Human Rights Awards at Friday 13 December 2019.
Two members from the Peer Advocacy Team, Barry Berih and Sajda Yakub, flew to Sydney to attend the award ceremony at…
December 12, 2019An Open Letter to the Premier of Victoria: Investigation of police misconduct
Read moreDear Premier,
In light of yet more shocking revelations in the national media about the abject failure of the current system of police complaints in Victoria we believe that action on the investigation and oversight of police corruption and misconduct is urgently required. As such, the range of community and legal organisations undersigned call upon the Government urgently bring…
November 14, 2019Release the findings of Brett Guerin investigation: Our statement IBAC’s Operation Turon
Read moreThe Police Accountability Project calls for the release of Operation Turon findings that expose potential leadership failures within Victoria Police.
September 1, 2019Independence critical in death-in-custody investigations
Read moreRevelations in Victoria’s Coronial Court today have highlighted systemic problems with police-contact death investigations in Victoria.
The Coronial Inquest into the death of Yorta Yorta woman Tanya Day has heard concerns regarding the perceived independence of the police investigator assigned to investigate on behalf of the Coroner.
August 11, 2019Calls for real change in policing of people with mental illness
Read moreThe Royal Commission into Victoria’s Mental Health System has been urged to avoid “piecemeal reviews and more training updates” by police accountability advocates who say that the policing of people experiencing mental health issues is a vital area of system-wide reform. The submission by the Police Accountability Project has also called for an end to having police as…
July 5, 2019Renewed calls for Independent police complaints system
Read moreIn April 2016 Tommy Lovett was set upon by plainclothes detectives from Darebin Police. He was seriously assaulted, capsicum sprayed and ultimately hospitalised for his injuries. Police were looking for a suspect described as an ‘Aboriginal male, aged in his 40s with a goatee and red hat’. At the time Tommy was 18, wearing a black hat and riding…
January 20, 2019Victorian Government must ensure that the Horvath case is not repeated.
Read moreThe onus now is on the current Victorian Government to ensure that Victoria has an independent body that can meet international human rights standards – that is resourced and empowered to promptly, effectively and fairly investigation allegations of serious police misconduct like Corinna’s. We believe that the recommendations currently before Parliament for a new Police Corruption and Misconduct…
December 9, 2018Royal Commission into Victoria Police scandal welcome, but lawyers and experts call for immediate police accountability reforms
Read moreLawyers and advocates from across Victoria have welcomed the Andrews Government announcement of a Royal Commission into police misconduct, but say the Andrews Government should immediately establish an independent Police Corruption & Misconduct Division within IBAC.
December 6, 2018Have you ever been stopped by police?
Read moreAre you 18 years or over? Have you been stopped by the police in Victoria in a vehicle or public place in the last 10 years?
We want to hear your story.
November 18, 2018Police must take action on racial profiling after Four Corners expose
Read moreRacial profiling by Victoria Police and the harmful impacts of media distortion, stereotyping and racism have been exposed in a hard-hitting look at Victoria’s racialised crime panic on national television. ABC’s Four Corners interviewed several of our clients who have experienced some shocking incidents of racial profiling, including two young men who were aggressively ordered out of a…
November 5, 2018Will a more diverse police force reduce racial profiling?
Read moreA solution that’s often proposed to deal with problems of racial profiling is to increase police force diversity. But does a more diverse police force mean less discrimination?
October 19, 2018New body for complaints against police in Victoria is a good move, with some caveats
Read moreA parliamentary committee has recommended that all serious police misconduct be investigated by a new independent Police Misconduct and Corruption Division within IBAC. Tamar Hopkins, Professor Jude McCulloch & Professor Leanne Weber discuss what this means for Victorians.
September 14, 2018