Law Society issues warning as controversial Adelaide police zone renewed
A controversial zone giving police expanded powers in the city is being extended, triggering a civil rights warning.
A Declared Public Precinct covering swathes of the CBD, including Rundle Mall, has been renewed until January 9, 2027, leading the Law Society of South Australia to issue a warning over the impact on civil liberties when “extraordinary” powers become the norm.
The city precinct was established in 2023 and stretches from West Terrace to Pulteney Street and North Terrace to Currie Street, as well as a section between Montefiore Road and King William Street, which includes Parliament House, the Adelaide Festival Centre and Elder Park.
Dr James Marcus, a barrister at Len King Chambers and a Law Society of South Australia’s criminal law committee member, said the society was concerned about the normalisation of “extraordinary powers” in the state and argued that they disproportionately affected vulnerable groups in society.
Among powers given to police in Declared Public Precincts is the right to conduct metal detector searches to find weapons or drug searches.
Police can also ban a person from the area for up to 24 hours if they commit an offence, are offensive or behave in a disorderly manner.
“When extraordinary powers are granted, they’re often set out as a need to target a particular problem, and the argument often goes that the existing regime of powers is not sufficient to deal with a particular problem, so new powers are created,” Marcus said.
“The difficulty arises when those new powers, extraordinary powers or unusual powers, are then extended or expanded or institutionalised in such a way as to then become the norm.”
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According to the State Government, the CBD zone was currently the only declared public precinct in effect across the state; however, occasionally other precincts were declared, such as on New Year’s Eve.
The city declared precinct operates for 12 hours from 6pm every Friday and Saturday, from 6pm to 10pm every Sunday and 12 hours from 10am every Monday to Thursday.
According to SAPOL, in the past six months, police have removed 873 people from the CBD precinct and arrested or reported 355.
Declared Public Precincts differ from Declared Public Events and Places, such as at shopping centres, public transport hubs and at events. Marcus said the society had the same concerns over the growing number of SA shopping centres now declared Shopping Precincts where police have similar search powers.
They were first introduced after an incident at Marion Shopping Centre in July 2024, and the number of declared shopping precincts now numbers 17 across the state.
Marcus specialises in criminal, disciplinary and administrative law and recently completed a PhD on the rolling back of safeguards when new powers are granted, as well as the further expansion of those powers.
He was concerned the Declared Public Precincts would disproportionately impact homeless people, young people, Indigenous people and those from minority communities.
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“The other issues are then how these powers are used in practice … you find that powers like this sometimes are disproportionately used against more vulnerable members of the community or people that might have some stereotypical aspect of them that lead them to be the focus of police attention,” he said, adding that the concerns also held for Declared Shopping Precincts.
It comes as the Safer Place to Gather site in Edwards Park, which was a culturally safe space for Aboriginal people from remote locations, closed last month, with the State Government instead injecting $1 million for other Aboriginal support services. The safer place was initially established when the declared precinct came into effect in August, 2023.
Declaring the extension of the precinct, Attorney-General Kyam Maher said that “I am satisfied that there is, during the period specified in this declaration, a reasonable likelihood of conduct in the area posing a risk to public order and safety”.
“The extension of the Declared Public Precinct in the Adelaide CBD just continues our efforts to keep the public safe,” acting assistant commissioner David O’Donovan said.
“The DPP is a great additional tool for police, which allows us to proactively prevent incidents or harm, instead of needing to react to them.
“These powers are particularly useful in such highly populated areas like the city, where people are constantly travelling for events and to socialise.”
A spokesperson for Attorney-General Kyam Maher said that Declared Public Precincts “are an important tool in a suite of measures available to prevent crime and ensure the community is a safe place for South Australians”.
List of Declared Public Events and Places
Declared Public Transport Hubs
- Aberfoyle Park Interchange
- Adelaide Central Bus Station
- Arndale Centre Interchange
- Blackwood Interchange
- Colonnades Centre Interchange
- Crafers Interchange
- Elizabeth City Centre Interchange
- Elizabeth Railway Station
- Entertainment Centre Park ‘n’ Ride
- Flinders Medical Centre Interchange
- Flinders Railway Station
- Flinders University Interchange
- Glenelg Interchange
- Golden Grove Interchange
- Golden Grove Park ‘n’ Ride
- Klemzig Interchange
- Marion Centre Interchange
- Mawson Central Interchange
- Mawson Interchange
- Mount Barker Dumas Street Park ‘n’ Ride
- Mount Barker Dutton Road Park ‘n’ Ride
- Munno Para Centre Interchange
- Noarlunga Centre Interchange
- Noarlunga Centre Park ‘n’ Ride
- Old Reynella Interchange
- Paradise Interchange
- Port Dock Interchange
- Salisbury Centre Interchange
- Salisbury Interchange
- Seaford Interchange
- Smithfield Interchange
- Tea Tree Plaza Interchange
- West Lakes Centre Interchange
- Woodville Railway Station
- Any other interchange, station or park ‘n’ ride that is used by public transport services operating under the name “Adelaide Metro”.
Declared Public Transport Service
- All Adelaide Metro public bus services
- Botanic Gardens to Entertainment Centre tram service
- Glenelg to Royal Adelaide Hospital tram service
- Glenelg to Festival Plaza tram service
- Belair train service
- Gawler train service
- Seaford/Flinders train service
- Outer Harbor/Grange/Port Dock train service
Declared Shopping Precincts
- Adelaide CBD
- Arndale Shopping Centre
- Burnside Village Shopping Centre
- Castle Plaza Shopping Centre
- Ceduna Shopping Centre
- Colonnades Shopping Centre
- Elizabeth City Centre
- Hollywood Plaza Shopping Centre
- Marion Shopping Centre
- Mount Gambier Central
- Mount Gambier Supermarkets
- Munno Para Shopping Centre
- Murray Bridge Shopping Centre
- Parabanks Shopping Centre
- Port Augusta shopping precinct
- Tea Tree Plaza and Modbury Triangle Shopping Centres
- Whyalla shopping precinct
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