‘People were scared’: NSW police under fire after second Oxford Street drug raid in three months

More than a dozen NSW police have raided a handful of Oxford Street clubs just a day after the state government hosted a roundtable to canvass the impact that the watchdog-referred police drug raids in June had on LGBTQI+ nightlife venues.

On Saturday, police with drug-detection dogs were allegedly asking patrons at several Oxford Street venues to remove clothing in public view, walking the dogs along queues and questioning patrons about why they were leaving venues or what they were doing in the bathroom, said MP for Sydney Alex Greenwich.

He said that “a large visual presence of police” of between 12 and 20 officers raided multiple LGBTQI+ venues, including Darlinghurst’s Universal, Palms, Arq and Kinselas, while also entering The Dolphin and The Beresford in Surry Hills, and Darlinghurst’s Oxford Art Factory.

NSW Police Acting Deputy Commissioner Peter McKenna said that 65 people were searched in an “intelligence-led, prevention-focused, high-visibility operation in Surry Hills” which resulted in 28 drug detections, 12 fines, six cannabis cautions and one move-on direction.

Police inspected 15 venues and identified four licensing breaches and one minor inside a venue.

“Officers were deployed to the Oxford Street Entertainment Precinct where they aimed to proactively disrupt and address drug supply and possession, antisocial behaviour and other offences related to illicit drugs,” McKenna said.

He said that while NSW Police ran a similar program across the state “intermittently”, the Surry Hills precinct had a “higher than average detection rate for prohibited drugs; it is not the most frequented command to have such operations occur”.

“There is no targeting of any venues frequented by any minority group, but rather the whole entertainment precinct, in line with every other police command,” McKenna continued.

Arq nightclub patron James Twigg said that he was out with a group of 20 friends about midnight when 15 or so officers “stormed” the venue that was packed with about 200 patrons. Roughly half the crowd immediately left, he said.

“People were scared,” Twigg said. “The police were not aggressive. They weren’t verbally or physically aggressive. The raid just seemed aggressive in nature, and it made people feel really uneasy.”

Twigg said that the community felt as though they formed an “easy win” for police. “My friends from Brisbane and my mates from Melbourne refuse to come and party any more in Sydney because they’re so scared of the NSW police force, ” he said.

Footage captured by Twigg shows groups of police standing in a near-empty venue, with music still pumping as several patrons are either questioned or searched by police.

Last Friday, representatives for Police Minister Yasmin Catley, Arts and Nighttime Economy Minister John Graham, Greenwich, City of Sydney Councillor Jess Miller and a range of hospitality stakeholders met to discuss the experiences of LGBTQI+ venue owners and promoters.

After the June drug raids, Greenwich and Sydney Lord Mayor Clover Moore asked the police watchdog to investigate.