Are some Redfern Police officers failing Aboriginal citizens?

Beaumont told the South Sydney Herald that his involvement in an incident attended by Redfern Police has led him to conclude that local officers are failing to serve and protect the Aboriginal community of South Sydney.

In late June, a work colleague of Beaumont’s had her bag stolen from Redfern RSL. He saw a man and woman with his friend’s belongings outside Redfern Police Station and confronted the pair to ask for her belongings back.

Beaumont said, “I got everything back after 20 minutes but during that time I was scratched, verbally abused and spat on. I can’t believe how long the police took to respond to an incident right outside their door.”

When the police arrived at the scene, Beaumont said he was treated the same way as the people who had stolen his work colleague’s bag. “I stepped forward to the police, with my hand full of cards that had been stolen from my colleague. I told the police what happened, and that I’d been harassed and spat upon to get them back.”

“After that, all the police did was move us on. They paid no respect to the actual situation that had occurred. They didn’t pursue the matter. The police have a duty of care and are being paid to serve and protect the community. What did they do? Nothing.”

“We were stereotyped and stigmatised. Despite me declaring my case, still nothing has been done,” he said.

Beaumont has made a complaint to the commander of Redfern Police Station and has declared his intention to pursue the matter until a formal apology is issued.

Lawyers from the Public Interest Advocacy Centre (PIAC), however, claim that the complaints system is flawed because it relies on self-regulation. The PIAC told a parliamentary hearing in July that the vast majority of complaints against police officers in NSW were investigated by other police officers. According to PIAC, the NSW Ombudsman does not investigate complaints but rather reviews the police response to them.

Findings by PIAC are supported by the NSW Ombudsman’s response to an accusation of harassment previously reported in the South Sydney Herald.

According to the complaint, in January 2005, a car containing three Aboriginal children was stopped while returning from Leichhardt Park Aquatic Centre. The children, aged between nine and fourteen, were ordered out of a car, searched and questioned. The group were detained for half an hour and when allowed to leave were told: “Stay in Redfern” and “if you come back you’ll be pulled over every time.”

The NSW Ombudsman responded that no adverse finding had been made in relation to the police concerned.

Another Redfern resident who has experienced racism from local police is Elliott Yancey, 49. He declared that changes should be made not just to the complaints system but also to how policing is conducted in Redfern.

Yancey, who is of African-American background, works as a consultant for companies at the Australian Technology Park. In 2005, he walked past two police officers that were standing in front of Redfern Station while on his way to work. Yancey alleges that he overheard one of the police officers say, “That’s a well-dressed boong.”

Yancey said the incident was an example of the inflammatory treatment of Aboriginal residents by police. He said such treatment fuelled bad attitudes and tension within Redfern. “The cultural training, for being aware of Koori people, isn’t good enough. Police are not well equipped. They come with preconceived notions, and ideas, they have quick tongues and are bitter. Police are not all bad guys. They’re trying to pull things together and create some harmony but they themselves don’t know how to because they haven’t been trained adequately.”

David Beaumont reflects on his encounter with Redfern Police Photo: Ali Blogg

[South Sydney Herald August 2006]