Proposed new laws that would allow
New South Wales police to “stop, detain and search” anyone convicted of a serious drug offence in the past decade are “unjust” and would give police “extraordinary” power to target marginalised groups, legal and civil liberties groups have warned.
The government’s drug supply prohibition order bill, introduced to parliament last month and supported by the Labor opposition, would introduce a two-year pilot program in four local government areas allowing police to “search convicted drug dealers and manufacturers, as well as their homes and vehicles, at any time without a warrant”.
The proposed law could apply to someone who was a juvenile at the time of the offence, as long as police are able to secure an order from a magistrate.
The government says the bill would “assist police to gather evidence of drug supply and drug manufacture effectively and efficiently”, and target “serious drug offenders who have re‑engaged or are likely to re‑engage with drug supply or manufacture activities”.
But legal and civil liberties groups, as well as the Greens, say the bill would give extraordinary powers to search and detain people without due process, and warn that the definition of a “serious” offence in the bill is too broad.
