“We should be keeping young people out of the court system and not issuing fines,particularly to those who can’t afford to pay them,” Ms Lee said.
Health Minister Brad Hazzard would not be drawn on whether the Public Health Act,which he administers,should allow for penalties against children,but said,“police have a role to play.”
A spokesperson for Police Minister David Elliott said NSW Police did not set the public health orders nor determine fines and every police officer was required to use discretion.
A NSW Police spokesperson said,“when dealing with juveniles,the Young Offenders Act provides the legislative framework for the giving of warnings,cautions and youth justice conferences prior to proceeding by way of charge.”
The FOI does not show how many warnings were issued. NSW Police media statements about various arrests show a number of cases where teenagers were charged with COVID-19 offences alongside other offences,such as assault and affray,and cases where teenagers deliberately spat at or coughed on police.
In total,NSW Police issued 1277 CANs and 16,404 PINs in the two weeks from August 16 to August 30,the beginning of Operation Stay at Home,which concluded on October 1.
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The place with the most number of fines was St George Police Area Command,which includes Kogarah,Hurstville and Riverwood,where 825 PINs were issued. That compared with 438 fines in Fairfield,455 in Blacktown,550 in Liverpool and 572 in Mount Druitt,which were all in local government areas of concern.
Fairfield City Police Area Command had the most number of people charged,with police issuing 117 court attendance notices in the period.
The Orana Mid-Western Police District,based in Dubbo,also stood out,with the second highest number of both fines and charges – 695 PINs and 51 CANs – despite a smaller,less dense population.
Separately,answers to questions on notice provided to Greens MP David Shoebridge show there were 34,649 infringement notices under the public health orders from January 1 to August 31. This means there were almost as many fines in the last two weeks of August as the previous 8½ months.
Mr Shoebridge said,“There is something seriously wrong with law and order policies in NSW when so many children are being dragged before the courts like this. This doesn’t help public safety and it further fractures relations with police.”
NSW Opposition Leader Chris Minns and Labor police spokesperson Walt Seccord declined to comment.
A NSW Police spokesperson said every fine was reviewed and revoked if invalid. Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has also said people could raise concerns with his office.
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