Police Minister Holloway has failed to introduce into Parliament a critical new drug law to allow drug sniffer dogs to do the job for which they had been trained, Shadow Police Minister Rob Lucas said today.
“Five weeks ago, Mr Holloway was warned again that legislation needed to be introduced urgently to give police additional powers to detect drugs in entertainment precincts such as Hindley Street,” Mr. Lucas said.
“However, with only three sitting days left this year – because Mr Rann has cancelled the optional final sitting week for Parliament – Mr Holloway has failed to introduce the legislation.
“This now means that the earliest date for the passing of the new laws will be in March next year – a delay of six months!”
Mr. Lucas explained that these Labradors completed their training in September and are passive alert detection dogs (PADD) trained to detect cannabis, cocaine, heroine, amphetamines, and ecstasy.
“These dogs operate in the same manner as Customs dogs at airports and are meant to be used in entertainment areas as well as on public transport and at sporting venues.
“It is disgraceful that through laziness, incompetence, or both, Mr. Holloway has not heeded the clear warnings he was given.
“Put simply, a highly trained team of three officers and three dogs will spend at least six months filling in time by doing other jobs instead of helping to crack down on drug use in places like Hindley Street,” he said.