Review of the Police Powers (Drug Detection Trial) Act 2003 - NSW ...

Executive summary
Background to this report
On the 23 February 2007, the Police Powers (Drug Detection Trial) Act 2003 (‘the Drug Detection Trial Act’) revived,
with amendments, the Police Powers (Drug Detection in Border Areas Trial) Act 2003 (‘the Border Areas Trial Act’).
Border Areas Trial Act
The Border Areas Trial Act established an 18-month trial (from 15 January 2004 to 15 July 2005) giving police the
power to set up roadside check points to stop and screen vehicles with drug detection dogs. The border areas trial
was specifically aimed at detecting persons involved in the vehicular trafficking of indictable quantities of prohibited
drugs in ‘border areas’ in southern and western New South Wales.
The Ombudsman reviewed the first nine months of the border areas trial and found that despite the professional and
diligent efforts of police, the objective of the trial was not realised. Police conducted nine operations which yielded two
large seizures of indictable quantities of prohibited drugs but neither seizure resulted in a successful supply prosecution.
We noted that police efforts during the trial were hampered by some of the legislative requirements. We made a
number of recommendations aimed at improving police practice and procedure should the Parliament consider
extending the trial. However, the results and the costs of the trial led us to question whether the continued allocation
of resources to the trial was in the public interest. We also noted that there might be more effective strategies to
target vehicles carrying significant quantities of drugs.
Accordingly, we recommended that Parliament consider allowing the Border Areas Trial Act to expire pursuant to
the sunset clause. The Border Areas Trial Act expired on 15 July 2005. Police did not conduct any further operations
after the delivery of our final report to the Attorney General, Minister for Police, and the Commissioner of Police on
10 January 2005. The Attorney General tabled the report in Parliament on 25 October 2006.
Drug Detection Trial Act
The Drug Detection Trial Act established a further 18-month trial of police powers similarly aimed at detecting
and/or frustrating persons involved in the vehicular trafficking of indictable quantities of prohibited drugs. The Drug
Detection Trial Act contains amendments to the Border Areas Trial Act aimed at increasing the flexibility and mobility
of operations, as well as making the operations less predictable and more difficult to evade.
Section 22 of the Drug Detection Trial Act required the Ombudsman to review the first 12 months of the trial
(23 February 2007 to 22 February 2008). This report outlines the activities undertaken as part of the review and
details our observations, findings and recommendations.
During the review we conducted various research activities including:
• direct observation of police conducting operations
• examination of material used as the basis for conducting operations
• analysis of results of operations including drugs seized, charges laid, and court outcomes
• examination of searches recorded on the police computer system
• consultation with a range of stakeholders including police officers of various ranks
• survey of individuals stopped and searched by police during operations, and
• follow up of recommendations of previous Ombudsman reviews involving the use of drug detection dogs.
Key provisions
The Drug Detection Trial Act allows a police officer to apply for an authorisation to conduct a drug detection
operation utilising drug detection dogs to screen the outside of vehicles stopped at a check point or stopped within
search areas located in ‘outer metropolitan areas’ of New South Wales. In addition, police can enter and screen the
luggage holds of coaches and the cargo areas of commercial vehicles such as trucks.
A senior police officer of or above the rank of Assistant Commissioner may grant an authorisation to conduct a drug
detection operation if satisfied that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that the proposed search area is being,
NSW Ombudsman
Review of the Police Powers (Drug Detection Trial) Act 2003
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