Aboriginal Justice Agency seeks High Court appeal to set safeguards around police powers

The North Australian Aboriginal Justice Agency (NAAJA) today sought permission from the High Court to appeal a Northern Territory decision concerning police powers of ‘protective custody’. NAAJA’s principal lawyer, Jonathon Hunyor, said that in the Northern Territory, the protective custody powers are used approximately 10,000 times each year, with over 90 percent of the people locked up being Aboriginal. “Locking drunk people up cannot simply become routine. Standards should be in place to ensure police turn their mind to other options. At its heart, this case is about how police should apply the long-standing principle that arrest and detention should be an action of last resort,” said Mr Hunyor.

Source: Aboriginal Justice Agency seeks High Court appeal to set safeguards around police powers | Human Rights Law Centre