Police Powers Training and Support for Criminal Defence Lawyers

Intro

Racial profiling is a routine experience for many people in Victoria.  And yet, to date, no Victorian court has made a finding of racial profiling by police.  There are many reasons for this.  One reason has been the lack of funding for criminal lawyers acting for people who do not risk a jail sentence. This situation changed in 2024 when VLA introduced its new summary funding guidelines. Another is the lack of legal knowledge and support available for lawyers working for clients in racial profiling and police powers cases. This means that, despite the existance of a Charter of Human Rights, the development of the common law in Victoria lags behind other Australian and international jurisdictions.  

About this training manual

This training manual has been developed by Tamar Hopkins based on her experience as a lawyer in practice in Victoria from 2005 to 2016 and from her PhD research into racial profiling at UNSW. Tamar’s criminal law experience was transformed by and owes a great debt to legal practitioners including: Dyson Hore-Lacy, Jane Dixon, Emrys Nekvapil, Ruth Shann, Kathleen Foley, Sarah Leighfield, Michael Stanton, Vicki Sentas. This manual contains legal information that is not intended to be a substitute for legal advice. While every effort is made to ensure its accuracy, it draws on concepts that remain untested in Australian law and forensic legal consideration is needed to determine their applicability in individual cases.

The development of this manual has been assisted by a Victorian Law Foundation Grant obtained by Inner Melbourne Legal Service. Thank you to the continuing support of Victoria Legal Aid, the Police Accountability Project and to Sophie Ellis, Melissa Chung, Gabe Chipkin, Jalal Razi, Sam Coleman, Michael Stanton and the ongoing feedback of lawyers involved in the training.

Photo Credit: Charandev Singh