The New South Wales Police Force strip search scandal is an ongoing policing scandal involving the use of strip searches by members of the New South Wales Police Force.
Following the introduction of a controversial law in 2001, police in New South Wales were given the power to deploy drug detection dogs at major events such as music festivals, inside licensed venues (venues that serve alcohol, such as pubs and clubs) and at stations across the Sydney Trains network. In 2006, a report by the New South Wales Ombudsman advised the government to consider repealing this law, with figures published in the report revealing that 74% of people searched after an indication from a dog were not carrying any illicit drugs.
In 2014, it was first reported that people stopped by drug detection dogs were routinely being subjected to invasive strip searches by NSW Police, with large numbers of these searches being conducted at music festivals. During these searches, officers have forced people to strip partially or completely naked and do things such as lift their breasts or genitals, bend over, spread their buttocks apart, and squat and cough. In some cases, women have also been asked to remove tampons.Triple J Hack (ABC). Strip searches, Facebook after Zuckerberg & tattoos after death. 2 December 2015
At music festivals and other major events, NSW Police have used structures such as ticket booths, tents,Law Enforcement Conduct Commission. Report on the monitoring of NSW Police Force misconduct matter investigation – Strike Force Blackford makeshift partitions and police vans to strip search attendees. In some cases, these structures have been left open or did not block the view of people outside, leaving attendees exposed to other festivalgoers and police while they were being strip searched. In other cases, male officers have walked in on female festivalgoers while strip searches were taking place. Strip searches have also been conducted by NSW Police during drug detection dog operations at train stations and licensed venues.anotherrandom. So I got strip searched on the way home from work because of a sniffer dog and it got me thinking. Reddit, 15 January 2010, Retrieved 10 November 2021
Data from NSW Police shows that in the six-year period between July 2014 and June 2020, officers conducted 27,835 strip searches "in the field" (outside of a police station). Of that number, 5,659 were attributed to drug detection dog indications, with the same figures revealing that an additional 63,302 frisk or "general searches" resulting from drug detection dog indications were also carried out during this period. Data from specific events is limited, however at the Splendour in the Grass music festival in 2018, it was revealed that officers strip searched 143 attendees, with over 90% of those searches failing to find any illicit drugs.
In October 2018, the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) launched a formal investigation into the use of strip searches by NSW Police. In several cases it investigated, the commission found that officers acted unlawfully. The commission also noted that there had been a "significant increase" in the number of strip searches carried out following drug detection dog indications between 2014 and 2019. In July 2022, a class action was filed in the Supreme Court of New South Wales on behalf of patrons strip searched at music festivals by NSW Police from July 2016 onwards. A trial for the class action began in May 2025, with over 3000 group members enrolled.
Background Drug policy in New South Wales was a contentious political issue throughout the 1990s. In 1997, the Wood Royal Commission into Police Corruption concluded that there was "systematic and entrenched" corruption within the New South Wales Police Service (later changed to New South Wales Police Force). The commission uncovered cases where officers had engaged in bribery, assault, evidence tampering, drug supply and other misconduct. The commission noted that a significant amount of the corruption uncovered throughout the inquiry was "connected to drug law enforcement". Adverse findings were made against 284 officers, seven of whom were later jailed.
As part of the security operation in place for the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games, NSW Police received an additional 30 sniffer dogs, with many being repurposed as drug detection dogs after the games concluded. The dogs were initially deployed as part of a wider strategy to address drug crime in the South Western Sydney suburb of Cabramatta, however by early 2001, the dogs were routinely being deployed at various locations across New South Wales, including clubs, licensed venues and public transport precincts. During one operation in October, over 1000 nightclub patrons were searched in coordinated raids involving an estimated 300 officers and nine drug detection dogs.
These operations drew criticism from a number of organisations and civil liberties groups, including the NSW Council for Civil Liberties, the AIDS Council of New South Wales and Redfern Legal Centre. In opposing their use, Redfern Legal Centre assisted in the preparation of several test cases aimed at challenging the legality of drug detection dog operations in the state's courts. In one such case (Police v Darby), a man had been charged with possessing cannabis and methamphetamine after being stopped by a drug detection dog. At a hearing in November, a Local Court Magistrate dismissed the charges, ruling that the act of the dog "nuzzling" and "sniffing" the man constituted an unlawful search.
Responding to the Court's decision in Darby, then Opposition Leader Kerry Chikarovski introduced a bill aimed at clarifying the powers available to police in relation to drug detection dogs. The proposed legislation was not supported by the government. The following month in December, newly appointed Police Minister Michael Costa introduced his own bill, similar to the one which had been put forward by the Opposition. Despite opposition from some crossbench MPs, the bill passed with bipartisan support. The new legislation, the Police Powers (Drug Detection Dogs) Act 2001, gave NSW Police the power to deploy drug detection dogs at major public events, licensed venues and on selected routes across Sydney's public transport network These powers were expanded to include the entire Sydney Trains network in 2012.
2006 Ombudsman's Report (drug detection dogs) Conditional to the passage of the Police Powers (Drug Detection Dogs) Act 2001, New South Wales Ombudsman Bruce Barbour was given the task of overseeing initial drug detection dog operations carried out under the legislation, with a report to be tabled to Parliament after a two-year review period. In a final report published in June 2006, the Ombudsman criticised the use of drug detection dogs by NSW Police, describing them as an "ineffective tool" for catching drug dealers and questioning whether the legislation authorising their use should be "retained at all".
A key issue identified in the report was that most people stopped after a drug detection dog indication were not found in possession of any illicit drugs. Between February 2002 and February 2004, NSW Police conducted 10,211 personal searches resulting from drug detection dog indications. Of that number, 74% resulted in no drugs being found. In the 26% of cases where drugs were recovered, 84% resulted in small amounts of cannabis being seized. Based on these findings, the Ombudsman recommended that NSW Police guidelines be amended to state that officers did not have a "reasonable suspicion to search a person based solely on a drug detection dog indication".
Responding to a draft release of the Ombudsman's report in 2004, Police Minister John Watkins rejected calls to end drug detection dog operations in NSW. "That may be the Ombudsman's view but it's not the view of the NSW Police or the state government," he said. "The advice to me from police is that they are effective ... and the community wishes to see them." In 2005, the Police Powers (Drug Detection Dogs) Act 2001 was repealed, with the powers under the law instead being incorporated into wider police powers legislation. Following the release of the Ombudsman's final report in 2006, the state government reaffirmed its support for the use of drug detection dogs in public spaces by NSW Police.
Early incidents and first media reports
In 2011, drug detection dog operations came under renewed scrutiny when figures obtained by NSW Greens MP David Shoebridge revealed that in the nine months leading up to September, NSW Police had searched 14,102 people following an indication from a dog, with a "record 80 percent" of those searches failing to find any illicit drugs. Responding to these figures, NSW Police maintained that the dogs were "close to 100% accurate", arguing that in cases where no drugs had been found, a person had either admitted prior contact with drugs or was lying and drugs would have been recovered by a more "intrusive" search.
In 2009, an Ombudsman's report noted that NSW Police had used strip search tents at an event where drug detection dogs were present.Review of certain functions conferred on police under the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act 2002. New South Wales Ombudsman In 2010, a commuter reported being made to strip naked at Redfern train station after being stopped by a drug detection dog. The issue of strip searches at music festivals was also discussed on the Triple J Hack program in 2012. In 2013, dozens of complaints alleging police brutality were made following the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.acon. Policing at NSW Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex and Queer (LGBTIQ) Events and Venues. September 2013 In one case, a 53-year-old man was awarded damages after being strip searched at an afterparty event following a drug detection dog indication.
In October 2014, Shoebridge and the NSW Young Greens launched the "Sniff Off" Facebook page to share live reports on the location of current drug detection dog operations. Around this time, it was reported that attendees at music festivals were routinely being subjected to naked strip searches after drug detection dog indications, with some being told to squat. Figures obtained by Shoebridge showed that between 2009 and 2013, 3501 people were strip searched by NSW Police after being stopped by a drug detection dog.The Project (Network 10). False Positives 2 December 2014 One 23-year-old man told the Sydney Morning Herald, "They take you into a room and make you squat down to make sure you aren't hiding anything. It's pretty invasive, embarrassing and uncomfortable". Speaking to Vice, another man said:"It happens at festivals all the time. They've got booths set up to strip search you. It's basically a known thing that where there's sniffer dogs, they'll be strip searches as well".Recalling an incident he'd witnessed at a music festival, drug educator Paul Dillon told Vice:"I can remember one girl who was totally traumatised by the experience" ... "She'd been strip searched and was mortified. The girl had no drugs on her, was not a drug user, but had been through a very traumatic experience".
Increased strip search numbers