A study has called for a scaling back of police operations at future Mardi Gras events after it found policing during Sydney WorldPride to be excessively aggressive, invasive and in some cases potentially unlawful.
The study looked specifically at WorldPride events during 2023 and did not take into account the string of controversies around the police presence during Mardi Gras in 2024.
Author of the study Associate Professor Vicki Sentas said policing outside of events during 2023 involved invasive questioning, dubious use of drug detection patrols, and humiliating and potentially unlawful searches.
“Police drug detection operations at WorldPride and Mardi Gras events in 2023 were large in scale, heavy-handed and not justified,” Sentas said.
Police searched 350 people and strip-searched 33 people during WorldPride events in 2023 but Sentas’ study pointed out that the charges to emerge were overwhelmingly for possession, not supply.
“This flies in the face of harm minimisation principles which emphasise that police target supply, not possession,” Sentas said.
The study said the 33 strip searches were “highly likely to be unlawful”, as requirements state that searches only be conducted in “serious or urgent circumstances”, such as when there are fears a person could be concealing a weapon or device that can cause immediate harm.
The study found 50 out of 57 drug charges were for drug possession only, which is not considered a serious offence according to study co-author Dr Louise Boon-Kuo.
“We found that police practice shows a misunderstanding of the limits of police power to search and strip search,” Boon-Kuo said.
The researchers pointed to prior studies into the effectiveness of drug detection dogs between 2002 and 2023 showing that an indication by a dog for drugs was wrong in about 75 per cent of cases.
“Laws around the use of drug dogs state that a positive indication from a drug dog was not enough grounds to conduct a search,” the Mardi Gras study’s authors said.
“The law says police additionally need reasonable suspicion to go ahead and conduct a search, such as witnessing a potential drug deal taking place.”
The study also found police used aggressive, intimidating and presumptive questioning techniques.
Legally, police are restricted from questioning during a search, but questioning pre-search is not subject to any rules.
“Many partygoers felt bullied into answering questions and submitting to search, and we are concerned that in effect, aggressive questioning undermines legal requirements on police which are intended to protect individuals from unjustified search,” study co-author Boon-Kuo said.
The study concluded that the WorldPride police strategy emerged “from a longer history of police violence at Mardi Gras from the 1970s, which again intensified from 2006 with growing drug [detection] operations, including invasive strip searches and intimidation”.
Sentas said the consequence of intensive policing at Mardi Gras events is that it “normalises Mardi Gras as a site for LGBTQAI+ communities to be criminalised”.
“In order to prevent harms, drug dog operations should cease and the police footprint needs to shrink,” Sentas said.
This year, the community was divided over a decision by the Mardi Gras board to ban police from marching in the Mardi Gras parade following the murders of Luke Davies and Jesse Baird by a serving NSW police officer.
The decision was later reversed and the police were allowed to march but not in their official uniforms.
Sentas said policing is inherently political and there was likely to always be a debate about police marching in Mardi Gras.
“Ultimately, regardless of whether or not people think police should march in the parade or not, the question of how police are exercising their coercive powers, both within and outside the parade, needs to be addressed,” Sentas said.
“[The] NSW Police Force need to take responsibility for the institutional harms of over-policing, which was one of the issues identified at the [City of Sydney] safety summit.
“Of course, the first step for the NSW Police Force is to listen and act on the concerns of the community in a meaningful way.”
When approached for comment, NSW Police said it “worked extensively with Sydney WorldPride 2023 and a range of government and non-government stakeholders throughout the planning and delivery of Sydney World Pride. A range of strategies were utilised which ensured the community was able to enjoy the event safely and securely.”
Gay Sydney News reporter