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news.com.au :
DRUG sniffer dogs were used on the streets of Northbridge and Fremantle to sniff out illegal drug users.
No one was arrested during the operation, despite indications from the dogs that several people had drugs.
``The dogs can pick up a range of unlawful drugs including amphetamines, ecstacy, marijuana, opiates and cocaine,'' dog squad Sgt Simon Hubbard said.
Three of the squad's labradors and their handlers patrolled the entertainment districts.
They joined Northbridge's regular Operation Nightsafe about midnight.
Earlier patrols at Fremantle Train Station were the dogs' first after 12-weeks of training in WA.
The dogs - bred by Customs in Victoria - are conditioned to sit next to anyone suspected of carrying or having been near drugs.
The dogs sniff the air near a suspect.
They can also detect smoked or snorted drugs on a person who was recently in a room in which drugs were used.
Police would then talk to a suspect to establish if a personal search was needed, Sgt Hubbard said.
The dogs' street patrols will now be conducted reguarly across Perth and in the country
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,27574,25764443-2761,00.html
and
THE WEST:
Sniffer dogs to check for drugs in clubs, pubs
11th July 2009, 9:00 WST
Police sniffer dogs soon could be used in WA pubs and clubs to search patrons for drugs.
Passive drug-detection dogs searched people for drugs on the streets of Fremantle and Northbridge for the first time last night in an effort to reduce drug-fuelled violence in entertainment precincts.
Police Minister Rob Johnson said yesterday he would support a police submission for greater powers.
"Police believe sniffer dogs should also be used in pubs and clubs, I would have no objection to such a proposal,” Mr Johnson said.
A spokesman for Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan said police would consider how the passive dogs could be used inside venues before preparing a submission for Mr Johnson.
Under current laws, police would need a search warrant or the permission of the venue operator to bring sniffer dogs inside.
Australian Hotels Association WA chief executive Bradley Woods said he strongly supported the use of sniffer dogs and would welcome their presence inside venues.
“That would provide much needed support in tackling the problem of illicit drugs within venues and the problems with intoxication associated with that,” he said.
Shadow police minister Margaret Quirk said she had seen passive dogs used inside licensed venues in NSW and believed it had worked very well. The dogs would provide valuable information on the drug problem.
Sen. Sgt Simon Hubbard, of the dog squad, said yesterday police would use three passive drug detection dogs at Fremantle train station early last night and then check lines of people outside pubs and clubs in the port city and Northbridge until the early hours of today.
It would be the first time on the streets for the dogs, which had recently completed a 12-week training course to teach them to could detect drugs such as cannabis, methamphetamine, heroin, ecstasy and cocaine. A person would be searched if a dog indicated they had drugs.
He said regular police drug-detection dogs could not be used in public because they were taught to seek out illicit drugs actively rather than just sit down next to a person.
PERTH
RONAN O’CONNELL
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=154548
DRUG sniffer dogs were used on the streets of Northbridge and Fremantle to sniff out illegal drug users.
No one was arrested during the operation, despite indications from the dogs that several people had drugs.
``The dogs can pick up a range of unlawful drugs including amphetamines, ecstacy, marijuana, opiates and cocaine,'' dog squad Sgt Simon Hubbard said.
Three of the squad's labradors and their handlers patrolled the entertainment districts.
They joined Northbridge's regular Operation Nightsafe about midnight.
Earlier patrols at Fremantle Train Station were the dogs' first after 12-weeks of training in WA.
The dogs - bred by Customs in Victoria - are conditioned to sit next to anyone suspected of carrying or having been near drugs.
The dogs sniff the air near a suspect.
They can also detect smoked or snorted drugs on a person who was recently in a room in which drugs were used.
Police would then talk to a suspect to establish if a personal search was needed, Sgt Hubbard said.
The dogs' street patrols will now be conducted reguarly across Perth and in the country
http://www.news.com.au/perthnow/story/0,27574,25764443-2761,00.html
and
THE WEST:
Sniffer dogs to check for drugs in clubs, pubs
11th July 2009, 9:00 WST
Police sniffer dogs soon could be used in WA pubs and clubs to search patrons for drugs.
Passive drug-detection dogs searched people for drugs on the streets of Fremantle and Northbridge for the first time last night in an effort to reduce drug-fuelled violence in entertainment precincts.
Police Minister Rob Johnson said yesterday he would support a police submission for greater powers.
"Police believe sniffer dogs should also be used in pubs and clubs, I would have no objection to such a proposal,” Mr Johnson said.
A spokesman for Police Commissioner Karl O’Callaghan said police would consider how the passive dogs could be used inside venues before preparing a submission for Mr Johnson.
Under current laws, police would need a search warrant or the permission of the venue operator to bring sniffer dogs inside.
Australian Hotels Association WA chief executive Bradley Woods said he strongly supported the use of sniffer dogs and would welcome their presence inside venues.
“That would provide much needed support in tackling the problem of illicit drugs within venues and the problems with intoxication associated with that,” he said.
Shadow police minister Margaret Quirk said she had seen passive dogs used inside licensed venues in NSW and believed it had worked very well. The dogs would provide valuable information on the drug problem.
Sen. Sgt Simon Hubbard, of the dog squad, said yesterday police would use three passive drug detection dogs at Fremantle train station early last night and then check lines of people outside pubs and clubs in the port city and Northbridge until the early hours of today.
It would be the first time on the streets for the dogs, which had recently completed a 12-week training course to teach them to could detect drugs such as cannabis, methamphetamine, heroin, ecstasy and cocaine. A person would be searched if a dog indicated they had drugs.
He said regular police drug-detection dogs could not be used in public because they were taught to seek out illicit drugs actively rather than just sit down next to a person.
PERTH
RONAN O’CONNELL
http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=77&ContentID=154548