Review of the Police Powers (Drug Premises) Act 2001 - NSW ...

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Below, we have included a table that shows the security measures noted in respect of LACs in the Greater Metropolitan Region. A key impetus for the introduction of the legislation was to enable police to deal with fortified drug premises in Cabramatta. This table shows the proportion of fortified drug premises in all LACs in this region, including Cabramatta. Figure 3: Security Noted on Drug Premsies in the Greater Metropolitan Region 35 30 25 15 Security Noted Security Not Noted Number of Premises 20 15 10 5 0 1 19 2 3 7 3 2 1 1 4 1 2 1 1 4 1 4 1 1 Bankstown Cabramatta Camden Campbelltown Fairfield Granville Green Valley The Hills Holyroyd Liverpool Macquarie Fields Mt Druitt Penrith St George St Marys Local Area Command Source: COPS event narratives and search warrant documents. 5.5.2.2. Types of fortifications Our research showed that some identified drug premises had sophisticated security measures, like CCTV surveillance systems, and others appeared to have only security bars and deadlocks. We compiled the following list of security measures noted by police in the Greater Metropolitan Region (excluding Cabramatta). The list shows the range of security measures located on 16 identified drug premises in that region: • CCTV cameras, high colour bond fencing, light sensors, double hinges, dead bolts, and steel metal grills • front door with three sliding bolts, and two other locks, security bars on doors and windows • transactions occurred through a hole in a fortified screen door, surveillance camera on front eave of premises with monitor and microphone • surveillance camera • surveillance camera on top of roof of aluminium shed where a hydroponic set up was discovered • premises have fortified measures such as two American pit bull terriers • steel security door with hole cut in it, fortified at rear by extensions constructed of colour bond • video security camera, rear door reinforced with metal and a small hole cut in it • third double dead lock and second peep hole had been added, front window boarded up, window blackened with sheeting • two CCTV cameras, one monitoring the front door, and one on the driveway, additional locking mechanisms on the front door, hole cut in fly screen door • two uninstalled surveillance cameras • unit is in a secure block, and is secured by a screen door and a deadlock on the front door • CCTV camera in front window, monitor in lounge room, premises fully alarmed with back to base monitoring • front door fitted with security screen • video camera monitoring system, screens in lounge, bedroom, alarm device, four dogs, a safe and • double locks, locked flyscreen, surveillance camera and savage dog, defendant is described as highly surveillance conscious in an intel report. 281 281 COPS event narratives, Greater Metropolitan Region. 58 NSW Ombudsman Review of the Police Powers (Drug Premises) Act 2001
In our chapter on Cabramatta, we discuss the types of security measures found on identified drug premises in that LAC. In the Appendix to this report, we have documented the security measures police recorded on identified drug premises in other regions. 5.5.2.3. CCTV surveillance cameras and police scanners As well as evidence of external or internal constructions, and other security devices, section 11(2)(b) of the Drug Premises Act includes any means or device for the purpose of giving alarm. 282 Two types of devices that were found on identified drug premises that could be used for this purpose were police radio scanners and surveillance cameras. Surveillance cameras were more commonly noted in reference to identified drug premises in LACs in the Greater Metropolitan Region (excluding Cabramatta), and in the Southern Region, than in other LACs. Surveillance cameras were not noted as a feature of identified drug premises in Cabramatta. These cameras were usually linked to television monitors in the lounge rooms or bedrooms of premises. The presence of surveillance cameras was a factor in the police assessment that these premises were drug premises. For example, one event narrative relating to the use of the Act in the Southern Region lists various items that were found on the premises, including drug paraphernalia, syringes and a mixing agent, and: … surveillance monitor linked to the external camera which was on at the time, a bright fluorescent light which was situated out the front of the house. Due to these items being located together with the police intelligence obtained, the premises was declared a “drug premises”. 283 Surveillance cameras were most commonly found on identified drug premises in the Greater Metropolitan Region. In relation to one premises in this region, police noted that intelligence indicated that the occupants of the unit had: … gone to great lengths to fortify the unit from any police raids by reinforcing the doors and [defendant’s name] had placed surveillance monitoring systems in various parts of the unit to monitor the movements of persons/vehicles attending the location. 284 The unit had two surveillance cameras, one monitoring the driveway, and another monitoring the front door. The pinhead CCTV camera at the front door was inside a milk box, and was attached, via a cable, to a monitor in the lounge room. The camera that was positioned to record images of the driveway was hooked up to a television monitor in the defendant’s bedroom. According to the event narrative, this camera was: … protruding from his bedroom window and pointed towards the main driveway of the unit complex. This camera was attached and in full operation mode to a monitor/TV in [the defendant’s] bedroom. This camera has the capability of monitoring all pedestrian and vehicular traffic to the whole unit block at [address]. The defendant’s would have been able to identify the police approaching from any direction in [street name]. 285 Police also found a tool box containing a quantity of electrical items in the defendant’s bedroom, which police believed had been used to install, repair or replace the CCTV cameras. According to the event narrative, the defendant admitted to police that he had installed the cameras in the unit. 286 Another premises in the Greater Metropolitan Region had surveillance cameras and a scanner tuned into the local police frequency. Police also noted that the occupants of the premises had four dogs. 287 According to the event narrative, the surveillance on the premises consisted of a: …sophisticated video camera monitoring system installed at the front entrance of the house. The cameras installed enabled the defendant to monitor persons attending the front door of the house. A number of monitoring screens were situated in the lounge room and two screens in the main bedroom. Cameras attached to these monitors were secreted in a pot plant at the front of the house, a bedroom window frame and another camera attached to an alarm device fixed under the eaves at the front of the house. 288 282 Police Powers (Drug Premises) Act, s. 11(2)(b). 283 COPS event narrative, Southern Region, Drug Premises Incident 1. 284 COPS event narrative, Greater Metropolitan Region, Drug Premises Incident 25. 285 Ibid. Two occupiers of the premises were charged with allowing their premises to be used as drug premises and giving alarm/obstructing and delaying a police officer. 286 COPS event narrative, Greater Metropolitan Region, Drug Premises Incident 25. Two occupiers of the premises were charged with both allowing their premises to be used as drug premises and with giving alarm/obstructing and delaying a police officer. 287 COPS event narrative, Greater Metropolitan Region, Drug Premises Incident 34. 288 Ibid. NSW Ombudsman Review of the Police Powers (Drug Premises) Act 2001 59
Page 1 and 2:
Review of the Police Powers (Drug P
Page 3 and 4:
Contents Preface ..................
Page 5 and 6:
Chapter 11. Drug move-on powers in
Page 7 and 8: Acknowledgements This report was re
Page 9 and 10: Part One. Background. Chapter 1. In
Page 11 and 12: Drug offences, unlike for example,
Page 13 and 14: elieve is in a public place with th
Page 15 and 16: Chapter 2. Methodology In this chap
Page 17 and 18: 2.3.5. Health data NSP distribution
Page 19 and 20: As the table indicates, more than o
Page 21 and 22: 2.4.7. Complaints The NSW Ombudsman
Page 23 and 24: NSW Police advised us that calculat
Page 25 and 26: Another data limitation is that COP
Page 27 and 28: Chapter 3. Legislative survey This
Page 29 and 30: Once police have entered the suspec
Page 31 and 32: The table below sets out the penalt
Page 33 and 34: (c) that the nature and extent of t
Page 35 and 36: The Act contains four additional in
Page 37 and 38: A fortification removal notice is r
Page 39 and 40: For example, section 39(3) of the Q
Page 41 and 42: Part Two. Drug premises Chapter 4.
Page 43 and 44: In the police training manual on th
Page 45 and 46: Case study 2. Drug premises search
Page 47 and 48: 4.2.4. Presenting the application b
Page 49 and 50: A Crime Manager we interviewed from
Page 51 and 52: applications. In this Act, an inves
Page 53 and 54: Chapter 5. The definition of drug p
Page 55 and 56: 5.2. Recommendation That Parliament
Page 57: 5.5.2. Section 11(2)(b): fortificat
Page 61 and 62: The woman was found guilty of allow
Page 63 and 64: 5.5.5. Means or devices for drug us
Page 65 and 66: Number of Premises Figure 7. Razor
Page 67 and 68: However, no other evidence of drug
Page 69 and 70: • magnum revolver and a 0.357 mag
Page 71 and 72: 5.5.8. Section 11(2)(g): large amou
Page 73 and 74: The magistrate noted that there wer
Page 75 and 76: In relation to the money located on
Page 77 and 78: 5.7.6. Cars as drug premises As we
Page 79 and 80: … rather than being on the edge o
Page 81 and 82: Chapter 6. The Drug Premises Act -
Page 83 and 84: • the offence of being found on,
Page 85 and 86: With reverse onus, we didn’t have
Page 87 and 88: In the following section, we will d
Page 89 and 90: Officers from the State Crime Comma
Page 91 and 92: The second reading speech, which gi
Page 93 and 94: In the granny flat, police found ca
Page 95 and 96: Table 6. Pleas entered and court ou
Page 97 and 98: The magistrate said that he had a r
Page 99 and 100: 13. Allowing use of premises as dru
Page 101 and 102: The defendant says he was not there
Page 103 and 104: Figure 13: Ages of people charged w
Page 105 and 106: Table 12. Number of charges for var
Page 107 and 108: Chapter 7. Cabramatta 7.1. Introduc
Page 109 and 110:
No. of Drug Premises Figure 14: Num
Page 111 and 112:
Table 13. Information about drug pr
Page 113 and 114:
It should be clear that this legisl
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The unit was in disarray, with spar
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7.5. Level of drug supply the law i
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7.5.3 Firearms, weapons and high le
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7.6. Charges laid under the Drug Pr
Page 123 and 124:
7.6.4. Young Asian people and drug
Page 125 and 126:
Of these 52 people, 31 people pled
Page 127 and 128:
7.8. Conclusion: Impact of the Drug
Page 129 and 130:
By way of comment, the continuing a
Page 131 and 132:
Chapter 8. Targeting drug supply Pa
Page 133 and 134:
Table 18. Drug Misuse and Trafficki
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Low level drug suppliers are more l
Page 137 and 138:
Other forms of organisation in evid
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Table 19. Drugs Located, State-wide
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Table 23. Drugs located, Northern R
Page 143 and 144:
However, the submission concluded b
Page 145 and 146:
To begin with, telephone intercepts
Page 147 and 148:
The prohibited drugs that were loca
Page 149 and 150:
One factor that appears to have per
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