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Suburb lockdown: unprecedented abuse of power
2nd Jul 2019
Suburb lockdowns are plainly an extraordinary abuse of power and there does not appear to be any precedent for this type of police operation in any other state or territory in Australia, says the Australian Lawyers Alliance (ALA).
“These lockdowns are blatantly and unfairly targeting lower socio-economic suburbs,” said ALA State President, Mr Fabiano Cangelosi. “Each entry and exit point to the suburb is being barricaded and people entering or leaving are being randomly searched.
“This is an outrageous imposition on innocent residents in the targeted suburbs. Profiling individuals and whole communities like this is a dangerous over-reach by the police.
“This type of operation is something you might imagine could happen in a police state, not in suburban Australian streets.
“Small amounts of low-level crime may be uncovered but this result certainly does not justify the means. It is a heavy-handed abuse of police power for which there is no sufficient justification.”
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