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Summary: A 12-year-old girl was strip searched twice last week in a drug raid, a method police say was appropriate in the cirumstances.
[1 February 2012] - Tasmania's Commissioner for Children wants an urgent review of the state's strip search legislation.
A 12-year-old girl was strip searched twice last week in a drug raid, a method police say was appropriate in the circumstances.
Commissioner Aileen Ashford says there is no special protection for children in Tasmania.
Ms Ashford says regardless of whether the search was legal, it violated the girl's human rights.
She says it was a traumatic procedure and national law reform groups have pushed for an Australia-wide standard.
"What I would want to see is children and young people protected in legislation and currently the legislation that we have does not protect those children and young people."
"They are subject to the same strip searching as adults," she said.
She has welcomed a police undertaking to check protocols against other states, but says Tasmania's laws should be changed so a child can only be searched on a magistrate's order.
"There are times when it may be necessary and, at those times, there should be national standards that a child may be strip searched only pursuant to a court order so that the child can be legally represented and reserve the right to oppose the order."
Ms Ashford says she will lobby the Police Minister to change the law, and has renewed calls for a Tasmanian Human Rights Charter.
"We would see that that would be an overall framework for all government legislation and policy."
No action
The Australian Lawyers Alliance has reacted angrily to the outcome of a Tasmanian police review which has determined the search was legal.
No action will be taken against police.
Tasmanian Police Deputy Commissioner Scott Tilyard says the officers had reason to suspect the girl had drugs on her on both occasions.
"Their advice is that she didn't appear to be overly upset, emotionally upset by the procedure," he said.
Mr Tilyard says strip searching children is rare but Tasmania Police are legally entitled to do so.
He says the girl was not touched by the female officers or asked to squat as reportedly claimed by her mother.
Further reviews will be conducted into strip searching protocols.
The president of the Australian Lawyers Alliance, Greg Barns, says Commonwealth law requires a court order to strip search children.
"In some other jurisdictions they are only allowed to remove that item of clothing where they suspect that something may be hidden," he said.
Mr Barns is also pushing for changes to the law.
Further Information:
- NEW ZEALAND: Reforms target child witness tactics (7 October 2011)
- UNITED STATES: Supreme Court says child's rights violated by strip search (25 June 2009)
- UNITED KINGDOM: Analysis of the Inspectorate of Prisons reports on Young Offender Institutions holding children in custody (CRIN, September 2009)
- UK: Child inmates 'forcibly strip-searched' (28 September 2007)
- More on children's rights in Australia
pdf: http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-02-01/more-anger-over-police-strip-searc...