Sniffer dogs ineffective, say Greens

The Australian: Sniffer dogs ineffective, say Greens :

"Greens MP Lee Rhiannon today said the State Government should release the Ombudsman's report on the controversial use of sniffer dogs, which she suspected were not catching big-time dealers but instead netting young people with small amounts of recreational drugs."

I don't think the sniffer dogs are designed to catch the big time drug dealers. That would take some very heavy duty, serious measures. They are there to put people off carrying drugs. If they are being used at the Big Day Out it is simply a four legged message from the police. It's about dissuading the use of drugs because if certain people haven't noticed, our young ones,and even some of our older ones, are getting into dire straits overseas because we have not been good at sending some strong messages about drugs and their use into our community. Even without the overseas drug disasters,enough of our young ones are suffering a deliterous impact from the ease with which they can obtain and use drugs. The sniffer dogs are about interrupting drug use and making others who don't want to use them have the opportunty to be out and about without worrying about drugs. It would be interesting to see what the ombudsmen report says but even if the sniffer dogs are not highly successful, and that seems to be contrary to other information, then the fact they are there with their owners is a good thing. I am one of the few people who has not experienced the sniffer dogs at Adelaide airport. So many other people I know have seen them and have had their bags sniffed. The dogs pop out and do their job. The reaction of the people I know is they love seeing these dogs, they make them feel safer, they think it's a good idea and they support them as a way of stopping others from carrying drugs. It has only had a positive impact in Adelaide from what I can see. We worked out one Friday before Christmas that we had had enough of drugs and what they were doing to us and our young people.