A woman who is dying to become a police officer to help fight a crime wave ravaging her community was turned down for being a “loud and proud” sex worker.
OnlyFans model and escort Lisa Lewis moved from New Zealand to Darwin after watching a TV interview with Acting Northern Territory Police Commissioner Michael Murphy last May.
Murphy enlisted recruits to help deal with the Alice Springs crime explosion “Anyone who wants to join us can register online.”
Mrs. Lewis did, but she has now charged the NT police with discrimination after her application was rejected due to her ‘explained history’, The Australian reported.
Her complaint to the NT Anti-Discrimination Commission could become a test case of laws prohibiting discrimination against anyone for sex work.
Lisa Lewis (pictured right), who desperately wanted to become a police officer to help fight the crime spree in the Northern Territory, has been rejected because she is a sex worker. She is pictured after running onto the field during an All Blacks match in 2006
Ms. Lewis’s application had progressed to the point where police recruiters asked for her fingerprints, identification documents, driver’s license, medical history, details of “explained associates” and her criminal history.
She stated she had two run-ins with the law – running onto the pitch in a bikini at an All Blacks match in 2006 and an assault charge for shoving a man who knocked her teeth out in 2012.
The NT Police guidelines say that ‘simple offences’, such as common assault, do not disqualify someone from being recruited if they happened more than 10 years ago.
But Ms Lewis said she received a call from a police recruiting officer who said her application would be sent to the police integrity panel because of her ‘unique profession’.
The officer asked if Ms. Lewis was currently employed as a sex worker – which is illegal in neither New Zealand nor the Northern Territory – and she said she was.
In a letter to the integrity panel, she said she still works in the sex industry industry ‘because I need money to live and survive’ and that she would quit if she joined the police force.
Brendan Muldoon of the Professional Standards Command wrote to Mrs. Lewis on July 27, denying her application and banning her from reapplying for five years.
Lisa Lewis (pictured), an OnlyFans model and escort, moved from New Zealand to Darwin after watching a TV interview last May with Acting NT Police Commissioner Michael Murphy
Mrs Lewis runs onto the pitch during a rugby test between the All Blacks and Ireland in 2006
“As a result of your stated history, the panel has determined that your application has been rejected,” Commander Muldoon wrote.
“In addition, you are barred from applying for a position with the Northern Territory Police Force until 27/07/2028 being five years from the date of determination.”
Ms Lewis asked for her application to be reconsidered, but Assistant Commissioner Bruce Porter said the process followed NT Police policy.
“All job offers are at the discretion of the Commission and are based on a candidate’s suitability,” he wrote.
Ms Lewis said the police seemed to have a problem with how she makes a living.
“I’ve always been a loud and proud sex worker,” she told Australian journalist Sarah Elks.
‘It’s a legal job, I pay more tax than most New Zealanders. I’ve only just moved here and I have nothing to be ashamed of.’
She said that the NT police have no right “to discriminate on the basis of moral principles” and that sex workers obey the law just like all other workers.
“I just want to make sure the NT police are held accountable for their actions…if they have turned down sex workers in the past, maybe they should think twice about it.”
Mrs. Lewis has since applied for a job with the Victorian Police Service.
She sent a message to Daily Mail Australia (DMA) saying that as a child she wanted to “become a forensic scientist to examine evidence from a crime scene to assist in the prosecution of crimes or to exonerate an innocent person of suspicion’.
The Northern Territory Police told DMA they ‘will not be providing information about the application process for Ms Lewis, also noting that a complaint has been referred to the Northern Territory Anti-Discrimination Commission’.