‘Treated like gangland criminals’: Sydney couple share story behind viral sign

A suburban couple have shared why they erected a sign banning police from their home, saying the story was ‘stranger than fiction’.

A Sydney couple feel they have been treated like “gangland criminals” while locked in a bizarre dispute with the NSW Police that left them on a secret watch list.

Tradie Jarrod Davies and his wife Kathleen Davies, who runs an artisanal alcohol company, say their 20-month ordeal began with a call for police to help a family member.

But officers were soon investigating Mr Davies over allegations including that he made a woman fear for her safety and was in possession of an illegal firearm.

No charges were ever laid about these claims, which Mr Davies strenuously denies, and an apprehended violence order taken out against him was dropped seven months into the case.

Kathleen and Jarrod Davies say they have been shocked by their treatment.

Mr and Ms Davies claim to have had their bank accounts briefly frozen and car flagged on police systems after the allegations were levelled at Mr Davies in February last year.

On at least one occasion, a police vehicle marked “RAP”, suggesting it belongs to the Raptor Squad – which usually deals with hardened crooks – was captured on CCTV loitering in the driveway of their Revesby home. It’s unclear why the vehicle was there.

“We have no criminal record or background, and yet we’ve been treated like gangland criminals,” Ms Davies said.

It has been revealed through their own digging and in civil tribunal documents that the Davies have come under the radar of NSW Police’s secretive State Intelligence Command.

This command gathers intel for the force related to “high-volume crime, serious crime, organised crime, major events, and public order”, according to the NSW Police website.

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A police car marked “RAP” outside the couple’s home. Picture: Supplied

A court document seen by news.com.au appears to confirm the couple have been placed on a watch list until 2038, with the document stating their “numerous actions … to protect themselves” such as installing CCTV cameras and searching their cars for surveillance devices has led officers to claim they have a “fixation on police”.

Mr and Ms Davies told news.com.au this is not true, and that their constant complaints and protective measures were borne out of disillusionment with a justice system they say failed them.

“We just haven’t told even all of our friends everything that’s happened, because it just seems so unbelievable,” Ms Davies said.

“I’m just in a constant state of shock … it’s just been just coming to terms with, the police aren’t what I thought they were 18 months ago.”

Stranger than ‘fiction’

The couple have lodged a series of official complaints with officers linked to the case, with the Professional Standards Command and submitted several unsuccessful GIPA applications.

They claim to have been “stonewalled” and dismayed at the lack of transparency offered to them.

More recently, the couple was told that a report would be given to NSW Police Minister Yasmin Catley following a complaint made to her office.

Jarrod Davies has spent thousands defending his name.

NSW Police say the complaints have been reviewed. Picture: Thomas Lisson

“If I wrote a book about what we have experienced over the past 18 months it would sit in the fiction section of the book shop because no one would believe what has happened to us,” Ms Davies wrote in a recent email to Ms Catley.

“It has been a … complete waste of taxpayers’ money.”

NSW Police said in a statement it had received “numerous written complaints from a couple from Revesby”.

“Those complaints have been assessed and have been declined,” it said.

“These decisions are monitored by both the Professional Standards Command and the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC).

“The decisions to decline the matters stand.”

Ms Catley was contacted for comment.

Police investigating police

Greens MP Sue Higginson said she raised Ms Davies’ complaints with Ms Catley twice in the past 18 months.

Ms Higginson said she heard from people every day “who have been mistreated by police and left to tread water as opaque internal investigations processes stretch out over weeks, months and years”.

“Police investigating police simply does not work – if it happens at all,” she said.

“Some local commands investigate as few as 25 per cent of complaints made against their officers. Where investigations are undertaken, police routinely fail to meet their own standards and statutory requirements.

“It’s not good.”

Greens MP Sue Higginson has questioned the effectiveness of internal police probes. Picture: NewsWire / Gaye Gerard

Data released to NSW parliament this year showed less than half of complaints lodged against NSW Police officers were investigated by the LECC.

There were 4166 complaints recorded as of June 5, 2024, with 1235 investigated and 581 findings of misconduct.

Ms Higginson, the Greens’ justice spokesperson in NSW, said Professional Standards and the LECC needed more resources.

Other data released after questioning from Ms Higginson in NSW parliament shows the total cost of civil claims brought against NSW Police in 2022-23 alone was $37 million.

A viral sign

News.com.au became aware of the Davies’ tale after a picture of a sign erected in the front yard of their southwest Sydney home was posted to Reddit in February 2024.

The sign asserted members of the police were banned from entering the property stating organisations faced a “minimum penalty” of $10,000.

They also withdrew their “implied consent” for police to enter their land, which does not apply when there is an emergency situation or reasonable suspicion of a crime.

Mr and Ms Davies say the fight to clear their names has consumed their lives, but are adamant they are not sovereign citizens and describe themselves as “hardworking” and “generous”.

The sign which caught the attention of Reddit users this year.

Neighbours told news.com.au this year the couple were “normal” and “nice”.

They recently agreed to take down the sign after a hearing before the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), where Mr Davies is trying to have his firearms license restored.

Mr Davies agreed to hand over his firearms while the ADVO case was ongoing, which lasted until September 2023.

He accepts debate around gun ownership in Australia is “always contentious”, but says he takes his obligations seriously and would never risk his license by possessing an unregistered weapon.

NCAT in July found Mr Davies’ license should be restored, after hearing he had never breached ownership conditions.

But the police have lodged an appeal.

During the hearing, police refuted Mr Davies’ claims about mistreatment, saying he had a tendency to “exaggerate or misinterpret events to align with his preconceived views towards police”.

“The Respondent (NSW Police) contends that the Applicant has made a number of assertions which are unsupported by or contradicted by the evidence,” police submitted, according to the NCAT judgment.

‘Fixation’

A report from the State Intelligence Command was tendered to NCAT revealing the couple had been on a watch list since May 2023.

It also states their status was due for review in May 2038, after 15 years, and is labelled under the category “fixation on police”, flagging the potential of violence or threats towards officers.

Ms Davies said she and her husband have never been aggressive to police and can’t fathom how the NSW Police’s spy command has got involved.

Police have claimed in court documents the Davies were exaggerating their claims. Picture: AAP Image/Brendan Esposito

Her husband said the couple initially “went over and above to be cooperative” with the force.

“Just the amount of lies and … accusations that have been thrown at us is so disappointing,” he said.

In the missive tendered to NCAT, an SIC officer stated he was aware of the Davies’ perceptions they “are being threatened and harassed by members of the NSWPF on an ongoing basis”.

He said the couple believed “they are the subject of surveillance”, and have reported suspicions a car has been left outside their house to record them and police were trying to plant a firearm in their garden.

Mr Davies said once a barrister was briefed to appear in the upcoming NCAT appeal hearing, he would have spent up to $150,000 in legal fees to defend himself.

“I would do it all again,” he said.