Police target beach homeless

Bondi Beach’s homeless are crying foul over extraordinary police attention following the arrest of homeless man James Paul Millhouse (the ‘Bondi Caveman’) last week, who lived on the south Bondi cliffs for years before allegedly raping a woman.

NSW Police first conducted a blanket sniffer dog and search operation, focused on the back-side of Bondi Pavilion, on October 21. They returned to the area three times, but found no illegal substances on the homeless men.

The men, often called the ‘Bondi Nine’, continue to live beachside courtesy of a Supreme Court injunction that outlaws Waverley Council rangers carrying out eviction.

The homeless sought an injunction against NSW Police, but were refused on the grounds police could enter to keep the peace.

Two weeks after the first raid, Millhouse was arrested for alleged rape and resisting arrest. He was refused bail and is currently in custody, with trial pending. The incident has shocked a community that supported his right to live there amid council threats of eviction.

The pavilion’s homeless have received similar community support against eviction. Spokesperson Kevin St Alder said they were concerned that “some members of the community, particularly the police and some members of council, have taken a broad-stroked brush to homeless people”.

“Soon after the rape arrest hit the media they returned on Friday [November 8] on three occasions with sniffer dogs but found nothing each time,” he said.

Police issued three cannabis cautions and two possession charges to individuals in other parts of the beach precinct during the operation.

Detective Sergeant Michael Todd of Waverley Police said the raids were not a reaction to the rape case but a police operation that was planned in advance to send a clear message that drugs would not be tolerated in the area. Such operations usually target local pubs and clubs, particularly on weekends, and the ticketed exit at Bondi Junction train station.

St Alder labelled the latest operation “police overkill that has just made us fearful of them”. “Their resources would be better spent chasing the notorious back-door bandit than targeting the area’s homeless,” he said.

The pavilion’s homeless battle with Waverley Council returns to the Supreme Court on December 14.

– By Matt Khoury