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Public Space Offences

20 January 2010. Public Space Offences. James Farrell Manager/Principal Lawyer Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic. Overview. Move on powers Random weapons searches Begging Drunkenness. Move on powers – s6(1) of the Summary Offences Act.

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Public Space Offences

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  1. 20 January 2010 Public Space Offences James Farrell Manager/Principal Lawyer Homeless Persons’ Legal Clinic

  2. Overview • Move on powers • Random weapons searches • Begging • Drunkenness

  3. Move on powers – s6(1) of the Summary Offences Act A member of the police force may give a direction to a person or persons in a public place to leave the public place, or part of the public place, if the member suspects on reasonable grounds that— (a) the person is or persons are breaching, or likely to breach, the peace; or (b) the person is or persons are endangering, or likely to endanger, the safety of any other person; or (c) the behaviour of the person or persons is likely to cause injury to a person or damage to property or is otherwise a risk to public safety.

  4. Move on powers and homelessness http://www.abc.net.au/reslib/200806/r266939_1117294.asx

  5. Move on powers and homelessness • 76.5% of homeless people surveyed had been told to move-on one or more times in the last six months. • Homeless people sleeping rough or in squats were most susceptible to being moved on; 90% respondents who were sleeping rough had been moved on in the last six months. • 77.9% respondents who received a move-on direction indicated their behaviour or presence when directed to move-on was innocuous and unlikely to meet the threshold requirements for lawfully issuing a move-on direction. • 85% respondents who had been told to move-on one or more times within the last six months were given nowhere in particular to go upon being issued with move-on directions.

  6. Move on powers and homelessness [cont.] • Concerns about police ‘chasing’ homeless people from one place to the next were raised throughout the research. Some respondents stated that it was often the same officers that followed homeless people throughout the day to ‘chase them away’. • 40% respondents who were asked to move-on in the last six months were not given a time frame for doing so (as required under the relevant Queensland law and the Local Law). • 71% homeless people who were given a move-on direction complied with direction when issued, without question or argument. • Homeless people surveyed had little knowledge about what constitutes a lawful police move-on direction, indicating their vulnerability to abuse of the power by police.

  7. Random weapons searches –Control of Weapons Act If— (a) a member of the police force has reasonable grounds for suspecting thata person is carrying or has in his or her possession in a public place a weapon contrary to this Act; and (b) the member informs the person of the grounds for his or her suspicion; and (c) the member complies with subsection (3)— the member may, without a warrant— (d) search the person and any vehicle or thing in his or her possession or under his or her control for the weapon; and (e) seize and detain any item detected during the search that the member reasonably suspects is a weapon.

  8. An increase in knife-related violence? • The Victoria Police 2008/09 Crime Statistics show a drop in crimes against the person (including assault, robbery and sex (non-rape) offences) per 100,000 of population. • Knives used/threatened/displayed during assaults decreased by 2.9% and “other edged weapon” showed a decrease of 2.4%. • http://www.police.vic.gov.au/content.asp?Document_ID=782

  9. ‘Random’ searches?

  10. ‘Random’ searches?

  11. ‘Random’ searches?

  12. Stop and frisk powers - NYC • Black and Latino New Yorkers have a greater likelihood of being stopped-and-frisked by NYPD officers at a rate significantly disproportionate to that of White New Yorkers. That NYPD officers use physical force during stops of Blacks and Latinos at an exceedingly disproportionate rate compared to Whites who are stopped, and that this disparity exists despite corresponding rates of arrest and weapons or contraband yield across racial lines, further supports claims that the NYPD is engaged in racially-biased stop-and-frisk practices. • Centre for Constitutional Rights (US), Racial Disparity in NYPD Stops-and-Frisks: The Centre for Constitutional Rights Preliminary Report on UF-250 Data from 2005 through June 2008 (2009), 5.

  13. Stop and search powers - UK • Section 60, Criminal Justice and Public Order Act 1994 (UK) • In 2008-09: • biggest fall in knife crime – Islington (25%) • Biggest increase in knife crime – Southwark (8.6%) • Ethnic monitoring: • 34,400 white people • 50,596 black people • Section 40, Terrorism Act 2000 (UK) • Gillan and Quinton v UK (4158/05)

  14. Begging – Summary Offences Act 49A. Begging or gathering alms (1) A person must not beg or gather alms. Penalty: 12 months imprisonment. (2) A person must not cause, procure or encourage a child to beg or gather alms. Penalty: 12 months imprisonment.

  15. Who begs? • Age and gender: participants were overwhelmingly male (80.77%), and the majority were aged between 25 and 44 years old (61.5%). • Income and employment: 73% of participants were experiencing long-term unemployment (being employment of more than one year's duration), and not one of the participants listed either full or part- time employment as their primary source of income. Instead, 26.92% of participants said that a disability support pension was their primary income, while the same number gave begging as their primary source of income. • Medical conditions: 53.85% of participants suffered from mental illness, while 15.38% experienced physical disability and 11.54% suffered from intellectual disability. • Dependency: 38.46% of respondents experienced drug dependency, and 15.38% experienced alcohol dependency; in addition, 15.38% experienced problem gambling. • Domestic violence: 23.08% of participants had experienced domestic or family violence. • Accommodation: 50% of participants were sleeping rough at the time of the survey; the next most common forms of accommodation were men’s shelters (15.38%), squats (11.54%) and rooming houses (11.54%).

  16. Australia’s poverty line

  17. The police response to begging • 17 participants, or 65.38% of those surveyed, had previously been stopped or approached by the police while begging: • summons (9 participants); • arrested (4 participants); • Infringement notice (2 participants) • no action (1 participant) • Other police responses: • moved on (8 participants) • threatened or harassed by the police (7 participants) • referred to social services (5 participants)

  18. The courts’ response to begging • Not one of the participants whose police contact resulted in a court appearance was acquitted, although 4 participants had their case dismissed. • Four participants fined • Three had a gaol sentence imposed • Three had a community based order imposed. • At the time of the survey, two participants had upcoming court dates

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