Drug detection dogs often get it wrong, and it's a policing practice that needs to stop

• Drug detection dogs are a street-level policing strategy that has now been used in Australia for more than 25 years.
• Since that time, increasing evidence has challenged the effectiveness and legality of this policing strategy.
• In fact, policing and law enforcement, including police drug dogs operations, accounts for nearly two-thirds of Australian government spending on illegal drugs.
• Our recent research shows police drug dogs are both an ineffective and inequitable strategy, which may carry health, social, and legal risks.

An ineffective strategy

• This included how individuals responded to the presence of dogs and how they prepared for anticipated encounters.
• We found encounters with drug dogs at festivals were common.
• In fact, the vast majority (94%) of those who reported such encounters said they had anticipated the presence of drug dogs.

An inequitable approach

• We found both samples of people commonly reported encounters with drug dogs in locations beyond festivals.
• Existing evidence indicates that prior interactions with police increase the likelihood of a stop and/or search encounter with police drug dogs.
• Our findings, combined with the existing research, suggest police drug dogs are ineffective and inequitable.
• They should be removed from all community settings, including music festivals, public transportation hubs, and other public places.

• She is President of the International Society for the Study of Drug Policy.
• She previously received untied educational grants from Seqirus for post-marketing surveillance of opioid medications in Australia.