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

In our view, a direction to move a vehicle to a check point would be reasonable, and therefore permissible pursuant
to section 9(1)(f), as it is required to facilitate the power to screen a vehicle stopped in the search area pursuant to
section 9(1)(c).
If police decide to conduct a search of the vehicle after screening it in situ, they could search the vehicle there
and then, or alternatively, direct it to an established check point for searching. 159 However, there are some risks
associated with the practice of directing vehicles to check points as the following case study demonstrates.
Case study 2
Vehicle directed to search location after indication 160
During a mobile operation police stopped a vehicle on a major highway in western NSW. The drug
detection dog and handler attended the location where police had stopped the vehicle. The dog indicated
the presence of a scent of a prohibited drug to its handler. It appears that police then directed the driver to
another location for the purpose of searching. No drugs were located during the subsequent search. The
COPS Event narrative contains the following:
It must be noted that the vehicle was directed to attend the search area and as such was not secured for a
short period of time. It is highly likely that the person of interest [name of person] did have in his possession
prohibited drugs but was able to throw them away when driving to the search area.
While there appears to be little doubt that police have the power to direct a vehicle already stopped in the search area
to a check point, the power to stop a vehicle in other parts of the search area and thereafter direct it to a check point
is unclear given the power to stop a vehicle in section 9(1) appears to be limited to stopping vehicles at a check point.
The above question highlights some of the inherent challenges faced by police when conducting mobile operations
during which ‘roving’ or ‘floating’ highway patrol cars are deployed in and around the search area to target vehicles
to be stopped. For example, in the above case study it appears that police may not have stopped the vehicle at a
check point given the need to direct it to a more suitable location for searching.
4.2.1.1. Mobile operations 161
In recognition of the different deployment strategies required to conduct mobile operations, police amended the
SOPs for the drug detection trial to include an additional section on mobile operations stating the following: 162
• The Drug Detection Trial Act gives police the power to stop vehicles at a check point.
• The location of any check points should be established in advance. This involves a prior assessment of each
check point to ensure it is safe for vehicle stops, and marking the check points on a map of the search area to
be attached to the operational orders.
• A vehicle may be stopped at any established check point in accordance with the SOPs for safely
stopping vehicles. 163
• Once a vehicle has been stopped at a check point, police will establish a safety zone at the check point by
setting up sufficient traffic cones around the work area.
• The senior police officer at each check point will take adequate measure to ensure the safety of persons and
vehicles approaching the check point.
• Only one vehicle is to be stopped at a check point at any time.
The following extracts from operational orders demonstrate how police planned to stop vehicles during mobile operations:
Mobile police units will stop vehicles at one of the designated check point areas within the [search area] … 164
Mobile police units will patrol the allocated zones and direct vehicles to the designated check point. 165
The traffic control team … will randomly select vehicles travelling within any of the three authorised zones
directing them to one of the designated check points. 166
Upon escorting a vehicle to a designated mobile checkpoint area … [police will conduct general drug detection]. 167
The above extracts show that police were mindful of the limit on the power to stop vehicles in search areas. However,
the following extract casts some doubt on their understanding of the precise limit of the stop power:
For the purpose of this mobile operation … the officer will patrol the authorised zones selecting vehicles at
random, based on any information from the number plate recognition system or based on local knowledge.
NSW Ombudsman
Review of the Police Powers (Drug Detection Trial) Act 2003
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