An 11-year-old Aboriginal boy on bail was subjected to more than 100 police checks over a seven-month period, in what a legal group says is evidence of "discriminatory patterns" in NSW policing.
An expert report commissioned by the Justice and Equity Centre (JEC) revealed NSW Police disproportionately target Aboriginal children and young people through 'bail compliance checks'.
The report, prepared by academics Don Weatherburn and Anna Ferrante and based on data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, found Indigenous young people were 11.7 per cent more likely to be checked by police than their non-Indigenous peers in the first 30 days of bail.
The chance of this occurring randomly was calculated at less than one in a thousand.
When Aboriginal children were checked, they experienced 42 per cent more checks on average. They were also more than twice as likely to be subject to "very frequent" monitoring, with nearly one in eight checked 12 or more times — compared to just one in 20 non-Indigenous children.
Sixteen Aboriginal children were subjected to more than 26 checks in 30 days. Just one non-Indigenous child experienced the same level of surveillance.
JEC, which is representing two Aboriginal brothers in a racial discrimination complaint before the Australian Human Rights Commission, says the data confirms what affected families already know — that they are being unfairly targeted.
One of the brothers, just 11 years old, was subjected to 101 bail checks in seven months, including 20 in a single month. He was on bail for a minor offence and had no significant history of offending, the JEC said.
"It confirms why courts, not police, should make decisions about when to disrupt a household with intrusive checking of young people on bail," said JEC Senior Solicitor Grace Gooley.
"Police can check people on bail when they have court authorisation or reasonably suspect a breach. We're concerned police are misusing their powers to unfairly surveil Aboriginal young people and their families, further harassing already over-policed communities."
Ms Gooley said the racial discrimination complaints stemmed from "months of relentless and disruptive police checks at their home".
"It's unacceptable that Aboriginal families feel intimidated by police pounding on doors and shining torches through windows in the middle of the night without good reason. Those families have a right to feel safe and secure in their home," she said.
"These intrusive checks by police cause distress and trauma, and do nothing to help a young person get on with their life - going to school, playing sport, and being part of their community."
NSW Police have previously faced sustained criticism over practices disproportionately impacting Aboriginal people — including higher rates of strip searches on Aboriginal children and harsher enforcement in Indigenous communities during COVID-19 lockdowns, which pushed many families into deeper financial hardship.
The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) has also raised concerns about officers coercing Indigenous children as young as 10 into police interviews without legal advice, and failing to activate body-worn cameras.
