Police Powers

Spotlight On Police Accountability Practice

This episode introduces the Redfern Legal Centre Police Accountability Practice. They are the only specialised police accountability practice in NSW.
They can advise people on issues or incidents around:
Police harassment
General searches
Strip searches
Arrests
Excessive force
Failure to investigate
Fines, including COVID-19 fines
Access to police records
You can fill out an intake form on the Redfern Legal Centre website, as well as find numerous links to resources and fact sheets to download.
Website:   www.rlc.org.au
Facebook: http://on.fb.me/sZOTl5 
Twitter:  http://bit.ly/sT9quL
To subscribe to our e-Alerts:  Legal Aid NSW - Subscribe
To send any questions: cle@legalaid.nsw.gov.au 
 
Acknowledgments
The music in our Law for Community Workers on the go podcasts is Blue Highway by Podington Bear licensed under Creative Commons: Attribution Non-Commercial 3.0 Licence https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/
Legal Aid NSW has met all our legal copyright and intellectual property obligations in the preparation of these podcasts.
 
Disclaimer: This podcast is a general guide to the law. You should not rely on it as legal advice. We recommend that you talk to a lawyer about any particular situation. The information is correct at the time of publishing but it may change. For more information, start with our team at LawAccess NSW via webchat at www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au or on 1300 888 529. 

Street wise behind the wheel - keeping young drivers on the road

In this episode we speak with Jane Sanders, Principal Solicitor, The Shopfront Youth Legal Centre about what young drivers need to know about traffic law and how to deal with things that can take them off the road like fines, licence suspensions and licence disqualifications. Jane also gives her top tips for going to Court and dealing with the Police if pulled over. Below are timestamps for some of the key messages and links to resources talked about in the episode.
2:30       Information about The Shopfront and who they help
10:15    Which Court is my traffic matter heard in?
12:15    Traffic fines
14:00    Licence suspensions
19:15    Licence disqualifications
24:30    Going to Court for your traffic matter
29:15    Police Powers
The Shopfront – Factsheets about Traffic law
1 – Getting a driver licence in NSW
3 – Driving without a licence
4 – Licence suspensions and appeals
7 – Serious traffic offences and courts
Free legal help - Traffic Offences
The Shopfront Youth Legal Centre - https://www.theshopfront.org/
Marrickville Legal Centre Youth Legal Service – Ask NALA – Traffic offences - https://www.mlc.org.au/services/youth/
Legal Aid NSW traffic offences guided pathway - https://traffic.guidedpathways.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/
Legal Aid NSW traffic publications – use hyperlink Driving: penalties, licences and insurance - https://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/publications/factsheets-and-resources
LawAccess NSW – Applying to remove your driver licence disqualification step by step guide - https://www.lawaccess.nsw.gov.au/Pages/representing/driving_offences_and_crime/driving_and_crime_after_court/SBSG_rem_d_disq.aspx
A second chance for Disqualified Drivers webinar – recorded Feb 2021 -  https://youtu.be/YEAGoeA6pi4
Fines and Work & Development Orders
Transport for NSW - Demerit points, penalties and offences on NSW roads - https://roads-waterways.transport.nsw.gov.au/roads/demerits-offences/index.html
Finefixer NSW guided pathway – https://nsw.finefixer.org.au/
Revenue NSW - Request a review of your fine - https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/fines-and-fees/request-a-review
Nominate another driver if you weren’t responsible for the offence - https://www.revenue.nsw.gov.au/fines-and-fees/nominate-someone-else
Legal Aid NSW Work and Development Order Service - https://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/what-we-do/civil-law/work-and-development-order-service
Police Powers and Young People
Legal Aid NSW Street Smart publication - https://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/publications/factsheets-and-resources/get-street-smart-under-18s-know-your-legal-rights
Youth Hotline – 1800 10 18 10 - https://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/what-we-do/criminal-law/youth-hotline
To organise a Legal Aid NSW Police Powers workshop at your service use this Request a Talk form - https://www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au/what-we-do/workshops/request-a-talk
Traffic offender intervention programs - https://localcourt.nsw.gov.au/local-court/sentencing--orders-and-appeals/sentencing-in-criminal-cases/traffic-offender-intervention-program.html
Legal Aid NSW Legal information for young people videos (created 2021). Available in English, Arabic, Dari and Swahili with or without captions- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLApA5ctFL2pWuf1BhCRAVU0Rje7oZvOTe
Editing by Tiffany Dimmack from Audiocraft
Disclaimer: This podcast is a general guide to the law. You should not rely on it as legal advice. We recommend that you talk to a lawyer about any particular situation. The information is correct at the time of publishing but it may change. For more information, start with our team at LawAccess NSW via webchat at www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au or on 1300 888 529. 

Police, your clients and complaints

Call to action!
 
Tell us what you really think of 'Law for Community Workers on the go' - help this resource grow and improve.
 
In this podcast we talk about:
what the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) does and how it works
when you should complain to the LECC,
what serious misconduct and serious maladministration is,
why it is important to make a complaint as early as possible, and
the importance of getting legal advice if you want to make a complaint about police.
 Referrals and more information
If you want to make a complaint about police you should contact Law Access NSW on 1300 888 529. You can get legal information and where appropriate get referred for legal advice.
You can find more information about the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission or call them on 02 9321 6700.
NOTE: During this podcast we say that the time limit to bring a claim against police is 3 years. This is only true where the assault is serious and meets the definition of a personal injury in the Civil Liability Act. For many assaults the injury suffered won’t come near that level of seriousness so the time limit for suing police for the intentional tort of assault will be six years, not three. Get legal advice from Legal Aid NSW or a Community Legal Centre about your specific circumstances.
Disclaimer: This podcast is a general guide to the law. You should not rely on it as legal advice. We recommend that you talk to a lawyer about any particular situation. The information is correct at the time of publishing but it may change. For more information, start with our team at LawAccess NSW via webchat at www.legalaid.nsw.gov.au or on 1300 888 529.