A raid on Friday at Brown Alley in Melb?

[theHat]

I've read several lists of guidelines but am still not 100% confident on this post... anywho....

I was cruising around the city on Friday night (Sat morn) at around 12:45 and noticed a huge bunch of police (at least 10 uniformed, and about another 10 undercover cop looking guys) with black labradors hanging around the front of the Colonial Hotel / Brown Alley.

Was this a raid? Was anyone at Fractured or Lee Burridge?

 

[anarky]

I thought it was the street in general.

I saw sniffer dogs on the corner of Collins and Kings street at around 12.

 

[Ewok]

Training for Two Tribes?

 

[Pleonastic]

It's King St. There's always cops on king street. And when something happens, even more cops show up. I doubt it was drug related - more likely to be drunken violence related.

 

[anarky]

I thought it was drug related when I saw labradors sniffing people walking past and some raver's crouching on the side walk who looked like they were being detained by police.

 

[sillycybe]

How often do the cops use sniffer dogs in the cbd. I thought only the poor bastards in sydney copped that.

 

[hoptis]

I think something did happen, there was nothing in the media over the weekend regarding this, but I received the following message on Friday night, around 8pm.

Loooooooooooooooong story short there is allegedly going to be massive police presence in city this evening (10th feb) associated with large scale drug busts, sniffer dog action. Suggestion around is that this is phase one of 2 phase clean up and practice for commonwelath games. 39 police. targetting all levels of potential drug carreirs and sources in the city, from clubs to car park. police road stop - the whole deal. sniffer dogs

<snip>

allegedly, next target weekend is the last one in feb....2 tribes.

<snip>

I was hesitant to post the second paragraph as I don't want to make people going to that event any more paranoid, but it doesn't sound like a much larger police and sniffer dog presence than is normally at those type of events.

Also, just having a quick browse of a few dance-related boards, doesn't seem like anyone at the event on Friday night saw anything like what was reported so police obviously didn't enter the venue.

 

[OhSoBec]

I thought there had to be exceptional circumstances for police to use dogs inside a venue otherwise it becomes harrasment??

 

[neverwas]

Theres always a big cop presence on King St as pleo pointed out. They normally sit around that area and outside Dallas at that intersection aswell.

And as far as im aware (i could be wrong) there arent and laws the prohibit police from taking sniffer dogs inside venues.

 

[hoptis]

It might have been these; explosives-only sniffer dogs, trained for the Commonwealth Games, also labradors so could easily be confused for drug dogs.

A wet nose for explosives

Sniffing out trouble: Sen-Constables Simon Primrose, Paul Sylvia and Kemal Brkie with trainee dogs Quantum, Riki and Okie. Picture: Peter Ward

Mark Moor
14 Feb 2006

THEY say every dog has his day, but these new recruits to the police dog squad will get 12.

The labradors have been trained specially to detect explosives and will be out in force during the 12 days of the Commonwealth Games.

Police are expected to run a public awareness campaign at Flinders St station this morning to tell commuters there will be an increase in the presence of dogs and transit police during the games.

The exercise was designed to ensure the public was not alarmed by the police and sniffer dogs on platforms and trains, a police spokesman said.

Public Transport Users Association president Daniel Bowen said the increased security was to be expected.

"Hopefully it will reassure travellers that they're safe and being looked after, but it's important to ensure security-related disruptions to the system will be kept to a minimum," he said.

"After the London bombings the police presence was increased and that's expected, positive and has worked well."

The labradors are trained to smell only explosives and will be used in stations, trains and in the CBD during the Commonwealth Games.

From Herald Sun

 

[hoptis]

How often do the cops use sniffer dogs in the cbd. I thought only the poor bastards in sydney copped that.

The dogs have been used before on CBD streets, see here.

I thought there had to be exceptional circumstances for police to use dogs inside a venue otherwise it becomes harrasment??

This article would seem to indicate that Victoria Police do have the power to take sniffer dogs into nightclubs, since the introduction of the dogs to Victoria almost two years ago now, there still hasn't been a recorded incidence of this happening. They have mainly been used in the vicinity of large dance parties.

 

[preacha]

Brown Alley still soundslike a sexual slang term

 

[sonicnature]

I can confirm there were NO police or sniffer dogs present at Brown Alley on Friday night.

 

[katmeow]

Seems this has been well and truly answered.

Closing