Sniffer dogs barking up wrong tree: report

[apothecary]

This prooves what we have been saying all along. I beseech all SAB members in NSW to do their part, and write a letter to their local politician, in lieu of this NSW Ombudsmans report, DEMANDING THAT THE USE OF SNIFFER DOGS BE DEEMED A SEARCH!

Apologies if this has been posted, I did a search, didn't see anything:

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http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sniffe...7827094304.html

THE drug sniffer dog program is an expensive waste of money that fails to catch serious drug dealers but manages to embarrass thousands doing nothing wrong, a NSW Ombudsman investigation has found.

The Government believes the dogs interrupt the supply of illegal drugs, but the two-year investigation found they stop three times as many people who are not carrying drugs as those who are.

During the study, 10,211 people were stopped at train stations, in pubs and on streets - but only a quarter of those searched were carrying illegal drugs.

Almost all of those were carrying cannabis, and mostly in small amounts, with cocaine and heroin discovered on fewer occasions than prescription drugs.

The Drug Detection Dog Unit cost $870,000 in 2002-03, but over the study period, just 19 people were convicted for supplying drugs. Most of those were carrying drugs for their friends rather than for sale, the report found, with only three sentenced to periodic detention.

The Ombudsman, Bruce Barbour, made 55 recommendations to improve the effectiveness of the program, but questioned the worth of keeping the enabling laws at all.

"Despite the best efforts of police, the evidence suggests that there is little value in trying to identify drug dealers by screening people with drug detection dogs in public places," he said.

However, the acting police minister, David Campbell, said sniffer dogs were an effective deterrent that saved lives and interrupted the supply of drugs.

The 19 convictions for supply was an "entirely satisfactory outcome", he said.

Edited September 20, 2006 by apothecary

[apothecary]

If you live in NSW…

You can find out what state electorate you live in by going to the State Electoral Office website.

Once you know your electorate, you can find out who your state member is by visiting the Parliament of NSW website.

SEO:

http://www.seo.nsw.gov.au/electoral_distri..._Index_-_Search

Parliament NSW:

http://www.parliament.nsw.gov.au/prod/parl...rLAByElectorate

PLEASE CONTACT YOUR LOCAL MEMBER!

Edited September 21, 2006 by apothecary

[apothecary]

Oh and I'm sure the acting police minister would love to hear from you too!

Telephone:

(02) 9228 3777

Fax:

(02) 9228 3722

Email:

[email protected]

Street Address:

Governor Macquarie Tower

Level 36, 1 Farrer Place, SYDNEY NSW 2000

[occidentalis]

onya sina

[Hagakure]

heard an interview with the police minister on triple j hack.

he didnt budge an inch but was made to look pretty foolish