Review into Sydney police strip-search has allegedly found misconduct

Sydney Police asked a young female to remove her tampon in a strip-search, a review has found.

The Law Enforcement Conduct Commission investigation also revealed that there was police misconduct found in five controversial strip-searches conducted in Sydney last year.

Almost all of the searches, where police were looking for drugs, took place at music festivals, and those that were searched felt humiliated and degraded.

The review was conducted after the parents of the women, or they themselves complained to local media.

Findings of the report raised questions on police pressure to conduct searches, bad communication and most importantly, the legality of police conduct.

The commission report called on the police to apologise to one of the young women that was searched and noted that in another case, an officer had been suspended.

One event that prompted the review happened in January 2019, when police strip-searched two women outside a casino in Sydney. One was asked to remove her tampon.

Another incident described when a young performer at a festival was instructed to pull down her underwear and bend over by police. Allegedly, male officers on the scene laughed and spoke to her unprofessionally.

The review found that police, in many cases, did not know what they could do in a strip-search.

According to Australian law, police officers can only conduct strip-searches if there is "seriousness" and "urgency" to the circumstances, making it necessary to search.

But the search must be done in the least invasive way possible. Therefore it is illegal to search genital areas or any body cavities.