Greens MLA claims sniffer dogs are a publicity stunt

[Preme213]

Absolutely, this is the one thing you must always do when police ask.

No! You most certainly do not.. the only time you must give police a name and address is if you are 1) Driving a car 2) Being served a warrant or 3) Suspected of commiting or being witness to a crime.

 

[psytaco]

^doesn't been identified by a sniffer dog provide suspicion for the possession of drugs.
that said, the ombudsman's report would have us believe that in reality it doesn't

 

[Preme213]

^doesn't been identified by a sniffer dog provide suspicion for the possession of drugs.
that said, the ombudsman's report would have us believe that in reality it doesn't

No, it provides them for grounds to search your person.. if they search and you are clean, you are clean. Also, Hoptis said you must ALWAYS give your name and address when asked by police - not just in the case of being stopped by a dog, this is just not true at all.

 

[GABAlover]

I think the real point of the dogs is intimidation. Maybe that's why they are still used, despite their proven ineffectiveness.

Hmm, wonder about a handful of civil suits RE: dog allergies ?

 

[yossarian_is_sane!]

No! You most certainly do not.. the only time you must give police a name and address is if you are 1) Driving a car 2) Being served a warrant or 3) Suspected of commiting or being witness to a crime.

Er no, you do actually have to tell them this. That's the only thing though, you do not have to do anything apart from this. If you do bitch at them for this alot of the time they'll just arrest you for obstructing police.

 

[hoptis]

No, it provides them for grounds to search your person.. if they search and you are clean, you are clean. Also, Hoptis said you must ALWAYS give your name and address when asked by police - not just in the case of being stopped by a dog, this is just not true at all.

Okay just to elaborate what I said, perhaps I wasn't clear. If police ask you for your name and address, they are obviously doing so because you are a subject of interest regarding a crime.

456AA. Requirement to give name and address

(1) A member of the police force may request a
person to state his or her name and address if the
member believes on reasonable grounds that the
person—

(a) has committed or is about to commit an
offence, whether indictable or summary; or

(b) may be able to assist in the investigation of
an indictable offence which has been
committed or is suspected of having been
committed.

(2) A member of the police force who makes a
request under sub-section (1) must inform the
person of the grounds for his or her belief in
sufficient detail to allow the person to understand
the nature of the offence or suspected offence.

From Victoria's Crimes Act (1958), p294

 

[hoptis]

What act allows the dogs to keep operating in VIC?

Maybe someone with more legal knowledge can correct me but I'm under the impression the dogs don't require legislation to operate. The search is non-invasive and if it sits in front of you that provides the police with "reasonable suspicion" they need to perform a search.

82. Search without warrant

Where a member of the police force has
reasonable grounds for suspecting that—

(c) in the possession of a person in a public
place;

there is a drug of dependence in respect of which
an offence has been committed or is reasonably
suspected to have been committed under a
provision of Part V, the member may with such
assistance as he thinks necessary—

(f) search the vehicle, animal, person, boat
vessel or aircraft;

and deal with it according to law.

Victoria's Drugs, Poisons and Controlled Substances
Act 1981, p159

 

[ilikeacid]

^Yeah that is what I suspected.. Thanks for that research hoptis
Yeah I'm so glad I warned her not to carry stuff on her person, I have BL and your guys wisdom to thank for that one :D ... even so, the coppers went to great lengths to intimmidate her, whilst humilliating her in front of about 50 onlookers in the middle of fed square!! Even warning her if she didn't tell them where she was hiding the drugs they could quite easily strip search her! Motherfuckers!!
I did some more reading of the NSW report and found this on VIC:

4.4. Victoria
The Victorian Police Dog Squad possesses dogs trained for drug detection. Up until 2004, Victoria Police used drug
detection dogs for searching premises, vehicles and personal belongings. In May 2004 the Victorian Government
announced that drug detection dogs trained in NSW would begin operations to detect persons carrying illicit drugs
into Melbourne nightclubs. The dogs are also utilised for street operations97 and at dance party events.
The use of drug detection dogs in Victoria is not regulated by legislation based on legal advice suggesting that
legislative regulation is not necessary.99 A person in a public place may be searched where a police offi cer has
reasonable grounds for suspecting that the person is committing a drug offence.

O.K people of Victoria now this is FUCKED UP! Reading through the Ombudsman report it states Victoria is the Only territory where dogs are used to screen individuals in public places without supporting legislation!
In QLD and NSW (the only other places with dogs employed to screen individuals) they had to enact special powers with review periods and special considerations, i.e., special warrants for "deemed public areas", targeting of supply not the user, operations to be spread around the city and state instead of targeting one specific area, thus potentially a specific group ect.
How has the Victorian public allowed this to happen... I don't know if it's just me, but seeing a group of dogs with a line of cops following behind reminds me of Gestapo patrols during WW2!! Even my conservative parents, not to mention the NSW Ombudsman, believe the actions of having dogs screening people in the streets is a massive civil liberties breach, one that does not stop supply or even deter use, rather, makes criminals out of people who are only out to have some fun! What is going on in this state?
plz ppl, write some letters to your local mp's, this shit has got to stop!

 

[hoptis]

^Yeah that is what I suspected.. Thanks for that research hoptis
Yeah I'm so glad I warned her not to carry stuff on her person, I have BL and your guys wisdom to thank for that one :D ... even so, the coppers went to great lengths to intimmidate her, whilst humilliating her in front of about 50 onlookers in the middle of fed square!! Even warning her if she didn't tell them where she was hiding the drugs they could quite easily strip search her! Motherfuckers!!

As I've said on here many times before, there is nothing stopping a person from asking for the rank and name of the officers involved. Besides from giving them your name and address you do not have to make any comment, even though it would be wise to co-operate up to a point.

Afterwards, anyone in such a situation can write a formal letter to the Police Commissioner's officer, Youth Minister's office, Police Ombudsman/ESD/OPI (not sure which) and the newspapers detailing their public humiliation by police officers attached to the sniffer dogs.

If only a few people understood this and were prepared to take this on it could really highlight the kind of bully tactics police use against young people in public places.

You only have to look at the recent disbanding of the former Armed Offenders Squad to see that Victoria Police take allegations of intimidation seriously.

 

[ayjay]

^In Victoria, it's the OPI that you contact. You can make formal or informal complaints.

Formal complaints have to be investigated, but you have to provide your details (name, address). In some cases, OPI will hand the case over to the police Ethical Standards Department to investigate. In some, OPI will investigate using its own powers. Whether an individual complaint goes to ESD, or is handled internally, depends on the big picture stuff that OPI is involved in.

You can also complain informally and anonymously. OPI keeps track of these informal complaints - once a number of complaints are registered against a particular officer or station, they will act.

You don't need to know the name of the officer/s you were dealing with to make a complaint. If you know the time and place, the actual officers involved can be identified from logs etc.

 

[Preme213]

Okay just to elaborate what I said, perhaps I wasn't clear. If police ask you for your name and address, they are obviously doing so because you are a subject of interest regarding a crime.

I must disagree completley, I have been asked for my name and other information MANY times by police without being suspected of a thing.. almost every single person I know has (police will ask you for your name merely walking down the street or standing outside a shop), if you think police adhere to these procedures strictly you are being incredibly naive. Just because the law says this is the only time you must give your name it does NOT mean it is the only time they will ask.. police ask you to volunteer all kinds of information you do not have to, it is what they are trained to do.

 

[Splatt]

Lol, they don't seem to care whats legal or not, they have power of uniform, and when that fails they have force, when that fails they have weapons and back-up. Recently my friend mnade a simple small facial gesture behind a group of policeman and he saw it from a freflection of a shop window in broad daylight. The pigger started swearing his head off saying "what the fuck, come on cunt, do you wanna have a go cunt?" and pushed my friend. He pushed my mate into one cop, then the other cop said "dont touch me cunt!" and they were yelling get your notebook out i dont fucking like the look of this prick cos my mate was just kind of just looking and staring back, and not looking away from the cops as most people would. They then said his license needed an address change and said they could fine him for it and all this crap. Total fuckwits. One of the cops was ok and didn't really do Mr Tough Guy act but he let it go on, he told me politely to "step aside mate" when i walked towards them all wondering what was going on. This was in Surfers.

Cops will do what they want. I've been searched in public and pills taken out of my pockets with handcuffs on, in public, my shirt lifted right up and all that, patted down.. Ofcourse they just tried to scare me about the ten-pack and nothing went through, and probably ate them later, suck shit cos they were duds.

But yeah, unless you have a good lawyer and witnesses, they can do whatever they want to get you convincted of a crime that requires searches etc. and that kind of thing.