A damning report has found Victoria Police officers disproportionately targeted Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people, as well as people of non-Anglo backgrounds, during the pandemic.
More than 37,000 fines were issued for COVID-related offences in 2020.
At least 28,000 included details of the person's perceived racial appearance, according to data from Inner Melbourne Community Legal released on Tuesday.
African, Middle Eastern and First Nations people were up to four times more likely to be fined for COVID-19 breaches than their Anglo counterparts.
First Nations people accounted for nearly three per cent of all fines, despite making up just one per cent of the state’s population.
More discrimination for state's Indigenous population
During the Yoorrook Justice Commission's truth-telling inquiry, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Shane Patton apologised and .
In the wake of the report, Commissioner and Deputy Chair of the Yoorrook Justice Commission, Sue-Anne Hunter reiterated Commissioner Patton's commitments and called on him to "stay true" to them.
“In his evidence to Yoorrook, Commissioner Patton committed to proactively review 'policies and processes with community to address systemic racism, unconscious bias or unequal use of discretionary power in outcomes'," the Wurundjeri and Ngurai Illum Wurrung woman said.
“He also said he was ‘completely open’ to any model of police oversight introduced by government. Being true to these commitments is a crucial step towards ending the systemic racism and discriminatory actions experienced by First Peoples at the hands of police.”
Racial profiling and police accountability researcher Tamar Hopkins worked with Inner Melbourne Community Legal on the report and said the data was evidence of racist policing.
"We found strong evidence that African/Middle Eastern-appearing people were more likely to be issued with a fine that required questioning than white people," Dr Hopkins said.
“We can see based on who is getting these fines, the way that Victoria Police go out and do their job in terms of making decisions about who to question."
Calls for fines to be scrapped
Fines issued during the pandemic included penalties such as $100 dollars for not wearing a mask, $2726 dollars for failing to isolate and up to nearly $5000 dollars for illegal gatherings.
The ABC reported some people had accumulated up to $7,000 dollars worth of fines.
Ilo Diaz from the Police Accountability Project, which is associated with Inner Melbourne Community Legal, called for all fines to be scrapped.
"We're asking for all these fines to be waived," Mr Diaz told ABC radio in Melbourne.
"More importantly, we know that when police are given extra powers and extra discretion, it's racialised communities that get impacted the most ... so we need a better accountability system for policing."
The report called for an independent complaints body to oversee police as part of its recommendations.
Despite the apology from Victoria’s top cop in May for racist practices within the state’s force, police denied the racial profiling allegations.
A spokeswoman for Victoria Police said the report was “simply not true" and Police Association of Victoria secretary Wayne Gatt accused the community legal group of a smear campaign.
“We're used to that, we've got thick skins and this sort of stuff has to become white noise for our members because they're out there doing the right thing for the community," he told 3AW.
Treaty and First Peoples Minister Gabrielle Williams said the issuing of fines was an operational matter for Victoria Police and if people have concerns, they should use the enforcement review process.
If this story has raised issues for you, you can call 13YARN 13 92 76 or Aboriginal Counselling Services 0410 539 905.
With reporting from AAP
