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

However, another senior officer stated:
We make sure that when we plan for these operations it won’t impact on what we call the first response
agreement of local area commands and it wouldn’t impact on the service delivery for communities. 408
The NSW Police Force provided the following response to a question on the impact of drug detection operations on
other policing responsibilities: 409
The financial costs of conducting [drug detection trial] operations are significant and have to be met by
individual [local area] commands, unless they can source alternate funding from Operation Viking and
other means. The ability to fund other competing operational priorities is a factor to be weighed up when
determining the timing and scope of [drug detection trial] operations.
Given the competing demands [drug detection trial] operations were restricted, in at least one instance,
to a lone static check point. Sometimes, in order to satisfy First Response Agreement demands, officers
are sourced externally from other units and from neighbouring commands. Sourcing large numbers of
staff externally has the flow-on effect of reducing the ability of these commands to meet their own policing
responsibilities. During Operation Cobwell some of the ‘seconded’ officers were required at times to leave the
site of the [drug detection trial] operation to attend to operational needs within their home command.
An example of opportunity cost is illustrated by the fact that detectives from the criminal investigation units of local
area commands participated in the majority of operations. This resulted in detectives conducting searches that
usually uncovered small amounts of mostly cannabis.
We asked some senior officers whether detectives issuing cannabis cautions represented an effective use of their
time and skills. The senior officers acknowledged that this was not an effective use of resources and suggested that
the detectives could have been called to the site of the operation if large quantities of drugs were located. 410
5.7. Other measures of effectiveness
Drug detection operations may produce other less tangible benefits that are not readily quantifiable. Below is a
discussion of other factors to be considered in the overall assessment of the effectiveness of drug detection operations.
5.7.1. Frustrating drug traffickers
Drug detection operations aim to detect and/or frustrate the efforts of drug traffickers. As noted above (at paragraph
5.2), drug detection operations conducted during the review period did not result in significant detections of
indictable quantities of prohibited drugs.
There was some evidence that drug detection operations inconvenienced some drug couriers. For example, police
received information that some drivers were stopping and offloading drugs at certain locations, which they would
pick up later. 411 However, there was little evidence to demonstrate that operations conducted during the drug
detection trial resulted in any sustained frustration or deterrence of drug couriers.
One senior officer we interviewed made the following observation:
There’s no doubt drugs are being conveyed across every highway in Australia. Any police activity on any
highway is going to frustrate drug couriers and drug transportation because the more of it the more lengths
they need to go to, to either secrete their drugs, go different ways or employ tactics to try and get around police
operations, so no matter what it is, any police operation is going to frustrate drug couriers. 412
However, another senior officer opined that there is ‘no evidence or intelligence that these operations have frustrated
the trafficking of indictable quantities of drugs’. 413
We asked the NSW Police Force if there was any evidence or intelligence holdings suggesting that operations under
the Drug Detection Trial Act have been effective in frustrating or disrupting criminal activity involving the trafficking
and/or supply of prohibited drugs. The NSW Police Force observed: 414
… the [drug detection trial] operations run to date have been disappointing in terms of results. While static sites
may have frustrated some criminal activity for a short period of time the overall effect would appear to be minimal.
The inability of operations run under the [Drug Detection Trial] Act to frustrate or disrupt the trafficking and/
or supply of prohibited drugs is illustrated by the fact that indictable quantities of drugs continue to be detected
utilising powers under alternate legislation.
NSW Ombudsman
Review of the Police Powers (Drug Detection Trial) Act 2003
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