The Ombudsman NSW has found aggressive sniffer dog policing is “ineffective tool for detecting drug dealers”.
In 2006 the NSW Ombudsman released its report on the use of sniffer dogs by NSW Police. The Ombudsman summary of the report states,
“Our review found that despite the best efforts of police officers, the use of drug detection dogs has proven to be an ineffective tool for detecting drug dealers. Overwhelmingly, the use of drug detection dogs has led to public searches of individuals in which no drugs were found, or to the detection of (mostly young) adults in possession of very small amounts of cannabis for personal use.”
Data measuring the level of drug possession incidents occurring in NSW has been double-counted for the last seven years, calling into question the legitimacy of drug policing programs across Sydney.
RLC’s Police Powers Solicitor Sam Lee spoke to City Hub, saying that this data has driven an increase in the use of sniffer dogs across NSW and unwarranted strip searches on young people.
“Our practice has spoken to a number of young people who felt absolutely humiliated after having to undergo a demeaning strip search upon trying to enter a music festival, with no drugs being found,” Ms Lee says.
“Statistics reveal that our clients are not alone in this, with no drugs found on 10,224 (64 per cent) others subjected to a search last year.”
Read the full article (Sarah Mclenaghan, City Hub, 19 September 2018)
