News South Wales: cops given power to remove veils during routine car stops
5 July 2011
One Comment
Muslim organisations in the state said they accepted the changes
News South Wales: cops given power to remove veils during routine car stops
Muslim women can be forced to remove their face veils during routine car stops under new powers granted to NSW police.
Premier Barry O’Farrell said cabinet had approved the move on Monday so police could properly identify motorists or any other people suspected of committing a crime.
“I don’t care whether a person is wearing a motor cycle helmet, a burqa, niqab, face veil or anything else, the police should be allowed to require those people to make their identification clear,” he said in a statement.
Last week, NSW Police Commissioner Andrew Scipione said police needed stronger powers to identify women who wear full facial veils.
Police have had the power to ask women to remove face veils during the investigation of serious offences but did not have such powers during routine car stops.
Update: See “Qld cops won’t seek powers to remove veils”, AAP, 5 July 2011
Muslims please don’t take it too far, so what if the police sees your face, isn’t a woman (if she wears Niqab) required to remove it in Hajj, and in all our prayers. Officers don’t do this to harass or be racist, they do it for security, and they do it in counties with Muslim majority too.
13 July 2011 at 11:08 am