NSW Police Strip Searches of Underage Girls Increased 30% In 12 Months

NSW Police strip searches of young people is increasing and for teenage girls they have increased 30% in 12 months.

New data has revealed the NSW Police Force recorded 31 strip searches of girls aged 17 or younger between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2023. Three of them were 12 years old and six were 13.

A strip search involves the removal of clothes under the supervision of an officer who suspects the person may be concealing drugs or a weapon. But NSW Police are only legally allowed to strip-search a person if the situation is deemed serious or commands urgency.

In the case of children, who cannot give consent in Australia, police can override the legal requirement for an adult to give consent of their behalf if police believe the search needs to be carried out immediately in the interest of safety or if they believe evidence is about to be destroyed.

The strip-search data, obtained by Redfern Legal Centre under freedom of information laws, revealed NSW Police conducted 4,591 strip searches between 2021 and 2023 – a 13% increase year on year

107 of the searches were of children, more than 20% of those children were Indigenous.

Senior Solicitor at Redfern Legal Centre Samantha Lee said it was “simply unacceptable” that children were being strip-searched and that First Nations people and children were disproportionately overrepresented.

“The significant increase in strip-searching girls is a matter of huge concern. Evidence demonstrates how traumatising such an invasive search can be,” she said.

“The sheer number of strip searches indicates the law is not being applied as intended by NSW Parliament, which intended it to be a last resort.

“Strip searches constitute an invasive, humiliating, and harmful process and should only be used in exceptional circumstances when no other alternative exists.”

Young people are overwhelmingly affected by strip searches. The largest proportion of strip searches in the state in the last two years were on people aged 18-29 and in 58 per cent of those cases, nothing illegal was found. 

This is not the first time strip searches of young people has been criticised  by legal experts and advocates, a class action proceeding for people unlawfully searched by NSW Police at music festivals has been before the courts since July 2022. The matter will be back in the Supreme Court in December.

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Aleksandra Bliszczyk is the Deputy Editor of VICE Australia. Follow her on Instagram.