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Victoria Police mandates officers to document a field contact report if they encounter individuals under suspicious circumstances or engage with someone due to a specifically identified situation.
In 2024, researchers highlighted a troubling disparity, revealing that Aboriginal individuals were 15 times more likely to be searched by Victoria Police compared to their white counterparts. Source: AAP / James Ross
The data further illustrated that African Victorians faced a significantly higher likelihood—23.7 times more—of being involved in police pursuits than white individuals.
“These statistics reveal a concerning pattern where certain racialized groups experience police searches far more frequently than white people,” the researchers noted.
Hopkins said the high rates of search, coupled with the use of force, indicated that an increase in stops, questioning, and searches was “leading directly to higher rates of violence against these communities”.
Excessive searches ‘forging a path’ for First Nations people
“This is when they have obtained details from someone they suspect has committed or is about to commit an offence, or may be able to assist with the investigation of an indictable offence. It has nothing to do with searches.”
Hopkins said the police statement was disappointing, calling it a “form of gaslighting”.
