Festival cop admits 19 potentially illegal strip searches

A police officer who conducted 19 strip-searches at last year's Splendour in the Grass has admitted none of them may have been legal, and only one revealed an item of interest: an antidepressant tablet.

The senior constable and one of his superiors at the music festival have both conceded to an inquiry into the alleged unlawful strip-searching of a 16-year-old girl that neither of them were aware of certain legal requirements for conducting the "invasive" procedure on minors.

A police sniffer dog inspecting revellers at the 2019 Splendour in the Grass music festival in Byron Bay.Credit: AAP

And a female officer who searched the minor without a support person said she "obviously didn't" turn her mind to the legislation and that inspecting the teenager's panty liner for drugs could've been "extremely humiliating".

The male officer - whose identity, along with the female officer's, is legally protected - also admitted to the Law Enforcement Conduct Commission (LECC) it was the "modus operandi" of police at the Byron Bay event to strip search everyone indicated by a sniffer dog, despite that not being enough to justify the procedure.

Counsel assisting, Peggy Dwyer, said the teenager at the heart of the probe felt she could no longer trust police and would have difficulty reporting a problem to police if required.

"You agree that's the opposite effect of what police are trying to engender?" Dr Dwyer asked, to which the officer replied, "I agree".

The revelation that more than 90 per cent of strip-searches at the 2018 festival turned up nothing prompted Michael Adams, QC, chief commissioner of the police watchdog, to suggest that officers' justification for the procedures were little more than "a gut feeling".

"I agree that it's not a good success rate," the officer replied before a hearing on Tuesday.

LECC is investigating whether police breached the law in failing to have a parent, guardian or other suitable adult made available when telling the child to strip.

The female officer said, although she didn't recall the search, she didn't believe she asked about a support person, saying the only reason she could think of was she didn't know the girl was underage - even though her identification had been taken.

"Did you think you might have decided you were not concerned with her rights?" Mr Adams asked, to which she replied, "no."

Crowds at Splendour in the Grass.Credit: Paul Harris

She was one of seven minors who were ordered to remove their clothes at the event, with only one being in the company of a parent or other suitable adult.

The commission heard neither the senior constable nor a detective sergeant at the event were aware of that legal requirement in 2018.

Mr Adams also revealed the commission was investigating whether police were breaching their strip-search powers at another NSW music festival.

Under the Law Enforcement (Powers and Responsibilities) Act, police are only permitted to carry out field strip-searches if the urgency and seriousness of the situation requires it.

The senior constable, who was involved in processing the girl before she was searched by a female officer, admitted there was nothing serious or urgent about her scenario.

"There was no urgency at all in any of those searches was there?" Mr Adams asked. He said it followed that the searches conducted by the officer weren't legal.

The officer agreed, saying it had been a "massive learning experience."

The officer said he believed about eight of the 19 searches he conducted revealed items of interest.

Counsel assisting the commissioner said only one of the officer's searches resulted in an item being found, "and that was Diazepam."

"Not a good hit rate," Mr Adams said.

"No," the officer replied.