Outrage over NSW Police sniffer dog searches at Sydney Mardi Gras Parade, after party

By DOUGLAS MAGALETTI

Throughout the Sydney WorldPride festivities and following the Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras Parade and the Offical After Party, there have been reports of a heavy police and sniffer dog presence.

One such incident happened to Peter Stahel and his partner while waiting in line to get into the Mardi Gras Official Party. According to Stahel, “scores of cops with sniffer dogs were walking down the line of people waiting to get into the party.

In a post to Facebook Stahel wrote, “Those whom the dogs sat next to were taken out of the queue and questioned in full view at the gutter which is a further intimidation tactic and a public shaming.”

Stahel’s partner, Jacob Henry, was pulled out of the line just as they were about to go inside.

“I didn’t know where he was after going through the gate and became worried as he had just disappeared without warning.”

Stahel continued, “After 20 minutes or so of searching frantically, I received a call from a shaken Jacob as he entered the party. I was close to tears after hearing what had happened. I was already feeling terrible after the entire experience of yet another bullying police experience.”

‘Sniffer dogs are not very accurate’

Katie Green, Managing Principal Solicitor of the Inner City Legal Centre which provides free community legal services, explained, in a conversation with Star Observer, that stiffer dogs are not very accurate.

“Fewer than 25 per cent of those searches actually result in drugs being found,” Green said.

“Three-quarters of people are actually being searched by police after a sniffer dog detection and nothing at all was found.”

“It’s not an exact science at all.”

NSW Greens MP Cate Faehrmann, in a post to Facebook, wrote, “I sat and watched with disgust as dozens of police with dogs walked up and down the long line of people waiting to be let into the party, taking away members of our queer community and strip-searching them.

According to Faehrmann, besides sniffer dogs not being very accurate, they also have the added effect of pushing people to engage in riskier behaviour.

Faehrmann explained, “The Coronial Inquest into Deaths at Music Festivals recommended that a heavy police presence and sniffer dogs be scrapped because they don’t stop people taking drugs, they just force people to engage in riskier behaviour like taking all of their drugs at once to avoid being caught.”

Harm reduction approach

NSW Senator David Shoebridge, in a post, wrote, “The police tradition of setting up outside the party with large numbers of drug dogs HAS to end.

Shoebridge believes that the best way to deal with drug use is with a harm-reduction approach.

“The war on drugs disproportionately targets the LGBTIQA+ community and always has, he wrote.

“What we need instead is funding for drug checking & peer support, drug & alcohol counselling for those that need it, and to tell the drug dogs to Sniff Off!”

Targeting Mardi Gras with drug dogs that are wrong 70% of the time is utterly disgraceful. It leads to more risky drug taking where people take all their drugs in one go, where they don’t feel able to seek help, and does nothing to actually reduce drug availability.

— David Shoebridge (@DavidShoebridge) February 27, 2023

Newtown MP Jenny Leong, in a conversation with Star Observer, said, “this is harassment and intimidation exercise by the New South Wales Police. The Greens are absolutely committed to banning sniffer dogs. We want them abolished. They don’t work other than to just intimidate the community, and that is the last thing we need in our society.”

Star Observer reached out to the NSW Police for comment. We asked them multiple questions, including how many people were searched and of those how many drugs were found. We also asked them why sniffer dogs were needed at these Queer events.

Operation WorldPride 2023 Commander, Assistant Commissioner Anthony Cooke responded with a blanket statement that read, in its entirety, “The NSW Police Force continues to work with Sydney WorldPride 2023 and other stakeholders to ensure that the entire festival is fun and safe for all.

“As with any large-scale event, there is a high-visibility police operation across the whole festival footprint and the public spaces in and around the event. The operation utilises a number of strategies including the use of drug detector dogs.”