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Victoria Police are under fire from a Melbourne nightclub manager because their officers have been filming punters on the dancefloor with a hand held camera.
As The Age reports, two plained clothed officers filmed patrons at King Street club Cloud Nine on at least four occasions between May 19 last year and April 18 this year.
The filming has been slammed as a "blatant breach of privacy" by club manager Robert Buck, who said the club would take action in the Victorian Civil and Administrative Tribunal to obtain the footage from police. A previous request for access to the tapes under Freedom of Information laws was denied by police last year.
"We are getting complaints from customers, particularly young girls, wanting to know why they are being filmed on the dance floor, when they've done nothing wrong," said Mr Buck. We think this is extremely heavy-handed and as far as we're aware, there have been no arrests from the filming."
Victoria Police have defended their actions, saying it was part of an ongoing investigation into drug use in King Street nightclubs.
Former Liberty Victoria president Professor Spencer Zifcak compares the incident to George Orwell's novel, 1984.
"The secret development of vast governmental databases on the personal affairs of individuals is a matter of very serious concern and thankfully, for the time being, we live in a democratic society ... but that can change in an instant."
