Maddison Connaughton // Aboriginal Communities Are Crowdfunding to Expose Police Brutality - VICE

21.11.17

Aboriginal Communities Are Crowdfunding to Expose Police Brutality - VICE:

After Kalgoorlie, Newhouse says many people reached out to his organisation looking for a way to hold the police to account and expose the over-policing, harassment, and brutality Aboriginal frequently face in Australia.

What NCP came up with is Copwatch, a project to try and get Aboriginal communities filming and sharing their interactions with police out to the wider public. The not-for-profit is currently crowdfunding to send its lawyers into communities to educate Aboriginal people about their rights when it comes to the police.

Already, in less than a week, they've raised over $20,000.

"The police themselves admit that all the participants in a particular incident behave better when they know they are being filmed," Newhouse says. "Young people around Australia, and in particular Aboriginal youth, are being misled when they're told they have no right to film police or any other person in authority."