The Northern Territory police have gained powers best suited to a police state under new law passed into the Police Administration Act on 26 November 2014.
‘Paperless arrests’ allow police to detain a person for 4 hours without charge if police believe they have committed, were committing or were about to commit a minor offence that could otherwise be dealt with by way of infringement notice. The new law defines a wide range of existing minor offences as Infringement Notice Offences, which are summarised below.
The government says that the changes are a bid to increase police flexibility and efficiency. Police can detain a person for a minor offence before more serious offending can happen. A reduction in paperwork allows police to return to the beat quickly.
Read more about NAAJA’s concerns – NAAJA & CAALAS’ concerns on paperless arrests