Indigenous Mother Fights Back Against 'Relentless' Police Surveillance
An Indigenous family from regional New South Wales has launched landmark legal action against the state's police force, alleging systematic racial discrimination in bail compliance checks. The case centres on two brothers who were subjected to what their mother describes as "excessive and relentless" home visits by officers over a 20-month period.
The boys, aged just 11 and 13 when the visits began in 2021, had been bailed after being passengers in a stolen car. Despite having no significant criminal history, they faced more than 150 police visits to their family home during the subsequent period.
"They would knock on the door, bang on the windows with their torches, shine torches through the windows. It was relentless," said Megan, who is using a pseudonym for legal reasons. The visits often occurred in the middle of the night or early morning when the children were asleep.
Statistical Evidence Reveals Disturbing Pattern
The family's legal representatives, the Justice and Equity Centre (JEC), commissioned research that reveals a troubling pattern of disproportionate policing of Aboriginal children. The analysis of police data covering the five years to March 2024 found Aboriginal children on bail were subject to home visits significantly more often than non-Aboriginal children.
The research conducted by Professor Don Weatherburn of UNSW and Associate Professor Anna Ferrante of Curtin University found that Aboriginal children were 11.7% more likely to be checked and subjected to 42% more checks on average. Most concerningly, they were more than twice as likely to experience "very frequent" checks - defined as more than 11 checks within 30 days.
"Stories like these are too common," says Grace Gooley, a senior solicitor at the Justice and Equity Centre. "NSW police are failing on Closing the Gap targets and the disproportionate rates of arrest and imprisonment of Aboriginal young people in NSW are unacceptable."
Legal Battle Reaches Federal Court
The family initially filed a racial discrimination complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission earlier this year. When conciliation with NSW police failed, they escalated their case to the federal court.
If successful, this would represent the first court finding of racial discrimination based on statistical evidence in NSW. The case will rely heavily on the research showing systematic differences in how Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal children are monitored while on bail.
Megan described the intimidating nature of the visits, noting that often three to six officers would arrive at their home. "[They would say] 'Well, if you don't let us in, we'll have them up for a breach of bail, and we'll be back to arrest them'," she recalls. "I was too scared to go to sleep, in case I missed them knocking on the door."
Broader Context of Youth Justice Reforms
The case emerges against a backdrop of heated debate about youth crime in New South Wales. Last year, the government passed laws making it harder for young people accused of committing break-and-enter or car theft offences while on bail to obtain bail again. These laws were extended for another three years in February despite no review of their effectiveness.
Meanwhile, data from the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research shows youth crime has remained steady in the medium to long term, with regional areas actually experiencing a 12% drop over the past two years.
Vicki Sentas, a policing expert at UNSW, criticised punitive bail approaches, stating they "do not make communities safer in the long term. They're just a disaster for children's futures."
The NSW police have faced previous criticism for their approach to Aboriginal communities. A 2023 police watchdog report found that a decades-old policy of proactively policing children who had recently offended or were at risk of offending was potentially unlawful, leading to its abandonment.
A 2025 report by the same watchdog recommended police only conduct home visits if there is a specific court order.
Police Response and Ongoing Challenges
A spokesperson for NSW police defended their practices, stating: "Proactive policing strategies, including bail compliance checks, are designed to protect the people of NSW and to ensure persons charged with committing criminal offences are behaving in compliance with their bail conditions."
The spokesperson noted police recognition of the overrepresentation of Aboriginal youth in the criminal justice system and pointed to strategies guided by the Aboriginal Strategic Direction and Youth Strategy.
However, statistics reveal the scale of the challenge. In the two years from June 2023, there was a 34% increase in young people in custody in the state, with Aboriginal young people accounting for 60% of the youth custody population.
Megan and her family remain determined to see change. "Police say they treat everyone fairly, but it feels like we've been targeted. And the numbers back us up," she says. "We want police to stop targeting Aboriginal kids, and we want people to know what's happening."
