Theres a reason why dogs have historically been trained to sniff out contraband, Nunn says: A dog has got something like 250 million nose receptors and weve got like two million. big myth about sniffer dogs In the early 2000s, NSW became the first state to introduce drug detection dugs. Also bleach will only work for some scents and not others. In other words, alerts caused by handler bias far outstrip alerts caused by dogs excited by treats. Just because the dogs can be influenced, doesn't mean they can't do their jobs. A person might have no drugs on them but may have recently smoked a joint, or that person hasnt got drugs on them or smoked anything but sat next to someone on the train who is a heavy cannabis user or had cannabis in their pocket, Nunn says. Not only are drug dogs unnecessarily used to hound citizens over searches resulting in nothing two-thirds to three-quarters of the time, or else uncovering small amounts of cannabis, but, as the coroner has found, their presence at events encourages dangerous drug-taking that leads to deaths. I went to a festival once. I feel sometimes the handler is the one looking and using the dog a tool. *The notable exception to this is in Section 60 of the Public Order Act 1994; if police believe that serious violence is about to occur in their locality, they can stop and search any individual or vehicle in the area within a 24-hour period, without needing reasoning suspicion. That is, however, the implication of . How to Manage Your Dogs Grooming Anxiety: Helpful Tips and Tricks, A Concise List of Emotional Support Dog Requirements, Are Doodles Hard to Train? I would have thought that any sniffer dogs would be there to look for the hard drugs that could endanger someone slife (e.g herois or what not), rather than just weed. The places where drugs were being hidden were labelled by red sheets of paper. The police were obviouly on the prowl and i witnessed many people being singled out simply because of the wey they dressed or were presenting themselves. Another key shift is that the community is calling for the legalisation of cannabis, as well as the decriminalisation of the personal possession of illicit substances, which basically signals that the public doesnt approve of armed officers harassing civilians over small amounts of illegal drugs. This is an unbeatable method that i use and would HIGHLY recommend. But just how effective are these dogs - and what does this mean for your rights? The only exception to whether a sniff is considered an illegal search, then, is if youre funnelled, delayed, targeted, interfered with, or requested to change direction to allow the dog to sniff you; this is in keeping with PACEs stipulation that the police cant stop you and then look for grounds for a physical search. Only 2.4 percent of detections happened at "dance parties. They're also capable of tracking scent through the air. They are mostly used for an intimidation factor. The smell will leach into plastic and the dogs can catch that if it happens. Started 9 hours ago, By True story, was going to a camping festival and had a lot of weed/MDMA/tabs not hidden very well in the car. Yet, nowadays, officers are back to staking out trains stations with the canines and running them through a sizable number of crowded bars. "They then pull me out of the line . Numerous reports show that this set of circumstances has hardly changed over the sixteen years since. Trust me, half the stuff i say i'm making up in my own head, the other half is fuelled by whatever music i'm currently listening to, idle threat i reckon, a few people may think twice about it - i think its jjust a scare tactic to deter some people wanting to bring in hard drugs, the last 4 festivals ive been to ive never seen any1 get weed taken off them nor have i ever seen a sniffer dog. I doubt they'll be up for it though, you seem to know a suspiciously large amount about this. More over looking for the big sashes to insure they're not being sold. In the study, researchers tested the efficacy of drugs dogs and their handlers, with some tweaks to the traditional dog training methods. The Police Powers (Drug Detection Dogs) Act 2001 gives police the right to use sniffer dogs outside any venue selling alcohol, any sporting match or music festival, train station, at any public place in Kings Cross, andinterestinglyinside any tattoo parlour. Festival season is fast approaching and across the UK sniffer dogs will be on the scent for festival-goers' drugs. Create an account to follow your favorite communities and start taking part in conversations. Board Masters 2021 HIGHLIGHTS Watch on Scott Abberton Senior Editor at MusPad You have to assume that the timing is merely an unfortunate coincidence given the Big Day Out is due to roll into Perth in just a few days, although with the problems the festival has been having in Claremont, it isnt hard to imagine there could be some politically motivated tactics at play. Tel Aviv. The Rockness tragedy and the 2009 death at Big Day Out are just more examples of moral bankruptcy in ongoing war on drugs, which see policy makers focused on fear and punishment at the expense of these young people and their lives. So what does the use of sniffer dogs actually achieve? Festivals, unfortunately, represent one of the few caveats to the above. I had 1/2 oz of stank ass bud on me the whole time, dog never gave a fuck. Most people will have a quick search made by security. Had a dog jump in and out of my trunk and they never said anything. try your own bunghole that way nobody can run away with your shit in thier hole. Oh i'm definatly not implying that your running the weed 'racket' this year by freaking out all the paranoid pot heads and then making a killing by selling it on the inside, i'm on to you this is one paranoid pot head you wont be getting the better of. However, when it comes to finding the best sniffer dog breeds, you should get a bloodhound. August 22, 2006 at 9:37 am #724811. Further research suggests dogs are able to interpret human eye contact, head and body orientation, and glances. sniffer dog deployment and training 66 "Super Sniffer" dog squads have been deployed across India and are now in active duty doing their bit for wildlife. Bag of coffee beans and I just put the pill bottle full of bud in the middle of it. Thats what happened in 2009, when according to The Age, Kalamunda teenager Gemma Thoms swallowed three ecstasy tablets before entering the Big Day Out because she was afraid shed be caught with the drugs by police and their dog units. With hundreds of millions of olfactory receptors in their nose, bloodhounds have an impeccable sense of smell. In fact, their use in the UK is not regulated by law at all. The debate over the effectiveness of sniffer dogs continues to rage. ", "$2000 per hour for a dog who will 60 to 80 percent of the time sniff out someone who is not carrying any drugs $6000 per hour for an operation to subject festival goers who are not carrying drugs to strip searches," said Shoebridge, who heads up the anti-drug dog Sniff Off campaign. Yeah we may end up going for the johnny up the arse routine, literally impossible to get caught that way but well see, might end up just going for the smell proof bags like you said. Turned the corner to the entrance to see a bunch of cops with dogs right there. However, that doesn't seem to be the way things are going. Then be sure to leave a comment and check out the rest of our site! Tiredness can play a factor, particularly at festivals, he says. I noticed that the Labradors followed procedure perfectly for about the first half hour of the day, sitting purposefully next to suspects. However, after half an hour or so, Oxenham noticed that the dogs spent the rest of the day casually sniffing festivalgoers bottoms. (other than registered guide or hearing . Across the road from Justice Precinct carpark, Using Sniffer Dogs to Arrest Over Tiny Amounts of Cannabis. The warrantless use of sniffer dogs in the community commenced following the 2000 Sydney Olympics and laws clarifying and expanding their use were passed in 2001. JuicyGoose Suck it. Last year at Rockness Festival in Scotland, a teenager died and two others were hospitalised after takinga designer drug similar to some amphetamines that is said to most closely resemble MDMA, or ecstasy, but lasts for twice as long. Critics say the sniffer dog program is inefficient, largely ineffective, and dangerous. The study found that 85 per cent of the 144 expeditions resulted in at least one alert by the dogs despite the lack of any real targets. They sniff passengers and hand luggage at security checkpoints and if someone reports a suspicious package or incident on a plane, bomb dogs are on hand to sniff the aircraft, its . Do they only smell big quantities of drugs? JavaScript is disabled. the likelihood of getting caught that way , even after a search, is alot less. By AFP Today, 9:45 pm. Interestingly, there were more false alarms wherever the red markers told handlers there would be drugs. Learn about the Basset Hound, Beagle, Belgian Malinois, and more. Fingers crossed! Not only are dogs man's best friend, but they're also one of the most challenging working species on our planet! Started Tuesday at 08:50 PM, For gig news, info & tickets see eGigs.co.uk, copyright eFestivals.co.uk 1998-2023 That means in three-quarters of cases, the dogs were wrong. Its quite a boring job for the dog very repetitive and the dogs get tired. And an indication from a drug dog can be all the police need to search you without your consent. Should be fine. @angel . sniffer dogs were introduced to new south wales around the time of the sydney olympics, but even after two decades as part of the police armoury in the war against drugs, instead of catching drug suppliers, or deterring drug users and dealers, drug dog operations have led to tens of thousands of innocent people being subjected to the humiliation The debate over the effectiveness of sniffer dogs continues to rage. They may signal that someone is carrying drugs when they are not, or they might fail to identify someone who does have drugs on them. Indeed, the potential for [dog searches] to affect public trust adversely was the key reason for the BTP withdrawing from their use. Of those searches, illicit substances were not found on 11,248 occasions. Why would they bring drug dogs to a music festival? Thanks for the tips though. Unfortunately, your content contains terms that we do not allow. Here's a list of the top 8 sniffer dog breeds. German Shepards and BloodHounds. Ian Renton, regional director of Cheltenham and the South West for Jockey Club Racecourses told the Telegraph: "We have a . Well she tried to find it and it wasn`t up there! Some promoters are trying to work the dogs teams too long and dont rotate them enough. However, there is a little evidence of this actually working and plenty of evidence that these kinds of security measures simply shift the pattern of behaviour slightly. Technology, therefore, allows the surveillance to be especially intrusive - much like a search, in fact. Worse, could the use of dogs actuallybe adding to the risk of harm by those determined to take drugs at festivals? Their aim, according to police, was to "target drug supply" and "attack the root . This post may contain affiliate links. Started 2 hours ago, By Ive had multiple dog sniff me and pills attached around crotch area and got into most UK festivals. "Despite the best efforts of police officers, the use of drug detection dogs has proven to be an ineffective tool for detecting drug dealers. I'm trying to convince my mates that we should leave home around 2am, that way there's no traffic and we should arrive at the site around 6am(coming in from surrey) on thursday morning. "This means if each dog spends six hours at a festival it's a total cost of $36,041. The only exception to whether a sniff is considered an illegal search, then, is if you're "funnelled, delayed, targeted, interfered with . Four of the recommendations were directed solely at the NSW Police, the first being to scrap the use of drug dogs. Sniffer dogs are present at Airports to help detect illegal substances such as drugs and explosives. By According to Big Thinks Simon Oxenham, the targets sniffer dogs choose may have less to do with the dogs senses and their training, than their police officer handlers, who may be the ones actually calling the shots. Secondly, the handlers were told that there were drugs hidden in various places inside of a church. Overall, the bloodhound is the best choice because they are big and can be intimidating, easy to train, and more than qualified for the job. Trialling a sniffer dog-free music festival could be a valuable experiment, according to drug safety and policy experts. And every year we get the same results. Cheers bud! Maybe not. Which is exactly what happened in the case ofGemma Thoms. Researchers tested drugs dogs and . TICKETS. With 80,000 festival-goers pouring through the gates at Heaton Park for the second day of . We will call you to confirm your appointment. Once the dogs handlers are factored in, the evidence on their efficacy is even more damning. 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