No drugs dogs, no strip searches

This weekend, the LGBTQ+ community will take to the streets for Sydney’s Mardi Gras parade. It’s a celebration of pride, identity, and the ongoing fight for equality.

But for too long, drug law enforcement has given police a pretext to target the community with an aggressive presence at the parade and parties. Intimidating packs of police in military-style uniforms will roam with sniffer dogs, pulling people aside for interrogation and strip searches.

Can you contact Chris Minns and tell him to call off the dogs, stop the strip searches and end the police intimidation?

Chris Minns’ email address is already loaded into this form, so all you have to do is write your message and send it. Your email address will also be automatically included in the email you send – so expect to hear back from the Premier soon!

Not sure what to write? Check out the tips at the bottom of this page! 👇

Tips for writing your letter

  1. Explain who you are and why you care. Maybe you’re a voter in NSW, or a member of the LGBTIQ+ community, or someone who believes in fairness – or all three! Let Chris Minns know.
  2. Tell Chris Minns what you want: make Mardi Gras fun and safe for everyone by ending heavy-handed policing. Call off the dogs, stop the strip searches and end the police intimidation.
  3. Sign off: Thank him for his time and encourage him to take action.

Want some more ideas for your letter? Check these out:

  1. Police intimidation, sniffer dogs and the threat of strip searches make people feel surveilled and targeted in what should be a celebration of identity and pride. It goes against everything Mardi Gras stands for.
  2. The Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug ‘Ice’ led by Professor Dan Howard recommended that the use of drug dogs should be stopped due to the risk it poses to people’s safety. When people are partying and using drugs, aggressive policing  only increases the risks of something going wrong. It puts people’s lives at risk by encouraging panic ingesting and buying from unknown sources inside events. 
  3. NSW Police have a long history of persecuting the LGBTQ+ community, including at the first Mardi Gras in 1978. Just recently, they have refused to commit to implementing any of the recommendations from a scathing inquiry into LGBTQ hate crimes. The world-first special commission of inquiry into the handling of dozens of deaths between 1970 and 2010 produced 19 recommendations, 15 of which were directed at police. How can we trust the Police to treat the community with respect?