BY ALISON DELLIT
SYDNEY — Arriving at Parramatta station for a Green Left Weekly selling spot during the afternoon peak hour rush on December 6, I was surprised to see a dog roaming among the commuters near the ticket gates.
Dogs are normally strictly forbidden in stations unless they are guiding a blind person, but this was no friendly guide dog. It was a police sniffer dog, trained to detect cannabis, and was chasing in and out of the crowd alerting its police handler to any unfortunate soul with marijuana on them.
When the dog detected that drug, it lunged aggressively. The police present, up to 10 officers at one point, then surrounded the suspect and searched their bags and pockets. In the space of 30 minutes, the police caught five "criminals", at least one of whom was carted away in a police van.
Having a camera with me, I decided to take a few pictures of the action. Starting when the dog was simply roaming around, I took five shots before being approached by a police officer, and asked if I had a valid ticket.
When I replied in the negative, I was informed that it was "an offence" to "loiter" in a train station without a ticket — even in the area where tickets are sold.
In the course of a rather heated discussion, the officer conceded that the "loitering" charge was "an excuse" to get rid of me because my obvious photography was making the police nervous. He then told me that if I did not leave the area I would be arrested.
On December 7, police were again at the station during peak hour — this time without a dog — and were stopping young people at random. During the half-hour that a GLW seller was there, none of those stopped were white.
In one incident, police demanded identification from two young Pacific islander women. When one produced ID, the police phoned the details through to the station headquarters. When the other explained that she didn't have identification, she was taken to the police station. Neither woman was found with drugs or any other illicit substance.
While there is nothing new about police harassment of young people in Sydney's west, the in-your-face aggression and disregard for civil liberties of the police at Parramatta station has begun to arouse anger in many commuters. The socialist youth group Resistance is discussing a campaign against the harassment, for more information ph (02) 9687 5134.
From Green Left Weekly, December 12, 2001.
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