Oppose Barnett’s stop and search powers

By Elliot Herrington, Perth

14 February 2010


Western Australia Liberal premier Colin Barnett wants to introduce draconian legislation which will give police more power. A wide spectrum of critics agree the proposed new powers are unprecedented in most of the Western world, would be grossly intrusive and would disproportionately penalise the most marginalised groups.

The Criminal Investigation Amendment Act proposes to remove the current legal requirement of reasonable suspicion before police can stop and search people.

Barnett said he wants to ensure offenders do not go free in cases where the police did not provide reasonable suspicion. This rationale suggests that the government is more concerned with putting more people in WA’s already overcrowded prisons than increasing public safety.

Similar stop and search powers, introduced in Britain 10 years ago under the Terrorism Act 2000, were ruled illegal by the European Court of Human Rights in 2003 after two people, one of whom was a journalist, were stopped and searched on their way to a protest.

The journalist was ordered to stop filming the protest, despite showing her press card. The judges concluded that those caught up in the stop and search laws would be prone to embarrassment and humiliation.

Many individuals and organisations in WA share these same concerns about Barnett’s proposed laws. They have been condemned by local and state politicians, former police superintendents, the Law Society of WA and most of the establishment media including, interestingly, the Australian.

Commenting on the British law, WA’s Equal Opportunity Commissioner Yvonne Henderson warned: “Black people and Asian people have been disproportionately targeted and substantial damage has probably been done to the relationship between these groups and police”.

Greens state member for Fremantle Adele Carles said: “There is no doubt that the proposed stop and search powers would interfere with our right to privacy and our right to be free from arbitrary interference. Essentially, these powers infringe on our civil liberties and, as such, they should be scrapped.”

Socialist Alliance candidate for the federal seat of Perth Alex Bainbridge said he is worried the laws would be used disproportionately against Indigenous people. “The WA police force is already riddled with racism: it even tried to charge a 12-year-old Indigenous boy with receiving stolen property – a Freddo Frog! Such a police force should not be trusted with these powers.”

The proposed legislation would seem to contradict Liberal Party philosophy. According to the party’s website, it believes in the “unalienable rights and freedoms of all peoples; and we work towards a lean government that minimises interference in our daily lives”.

The irony seems lost on Barnett.

A standing committee is due to submit a report on the effectiveness and consequences of the proposed laws on or before March 23, after which they will be put to the vote.

From: Green Left Weekly issue #826 17 February 2010.