The New South Wales Police Force is facing accusations of an overtly racist culture from two Indigenous former officers. They say it’s also contributing to the record number of First Nations people in custody across the state. The former officers have joined dozens of current and former personnel who have spoken to the ABC as part of an investigation into the culture at NSW Police.
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00:00Growing up as a Gomeroi teenager in northern NSW, Steve Bartholomew said he regularly experienced
00:09racism from local police.
00:11The police have turned up pretty much nearly every night and asked us not to be out of
00:16our pockets.
00:17He joined the NSW Police Force in 2014 as part of its Indigenous Recruitment Program,
00:22hoping to help change the culture.
00:25I believe I was just used as a poster boy just to promote the police.
00:29Mr Bartholomew says the force was far from the culturally safe workplace he was promised.
00:35It goes from the highest ranks down to the lowest ranks in the co-ops of racism.
00:40So I believe it's a racist organisation and they'll say, oh we've done cultural awareness
00:44training.
00:45It's a load of garbage.
00:47He said the discrimination was also directed at members of the public.
00:51Their racial profiling is out of control and that's why I believe incarceration rates are
00:57as high as they are.
00:58Mr Bartholomew said the toxic culture contributed to his severe PTSD, anxiety and depression.
01:05He said the catalyst for his decision to leave the force was a conversation he overheard
01:10between other officers during NAIDOC week.
01:13They started talking about letting all the blackfellas drink it out and fight until the
01:21death and the last one gets shot as a prize.
01:24Working with these people, we are a moment to trust them and their views on my people
01:28are that we all should be dead.
01:30Mr Bartholomew is now suing NSW police for racial discrimination and neglecting his mental
01:36health.
01:37And he's not alone.
01:39Another Indigenous officer has also called in the lawyers.
01:42She can't be identified but wanted to go public with what she witnessed in her short time
01:47at an inner Sydney station in 2022.
01:51I seem to be part of ordinary business, day-to-day business in the police force.
02:00The officer made formal complaints about the racist language used by her fellow officers
02:05during patrols, including saying they were just harassing Aboriginals because someone
02:11has to do it and referring to the Aboriginal Legal Service as the Abo Army.
02:17Another officer she worked with has since been charged with assaulting an Aboriginal
02:21woman during an arrest.
02:24All officers involved remain on the force.
02:27I think it lifts the veil on some explanation for the over-representation of Aboriginal
02:33and Torres Strait Islander people in the criminal justice system.
02:37Commissioner Karen Webb said in a statement,
02:39There is absolutely no place for racism or discrimination of any kind in the NSW police
02:44force.
02:45We have put significant resources into ensuring we provide an equal opportunity workplace
02:50for all staff.
02:52Both officers hope to participate in the cultural review recently announced by the Commissioner
02:57as a result of our ABC investigation.
03:00I just want something positive to come out of a negative experience.
03:06They believe the entire force needs an overhaul.