The Australian Sex Party opposes the use of Passive Alert Detection Dogs (sniffer dogs) at music and other cultural events.

Passive Alert Detection Dogs, better known as sniffer dogs, are used by Australian police forces to identify individuals carrying illicit drugs. If a dog ‘detects’ drugs on a person, that person may then be subjected to an intrusive and humiliating search by police.

Research into this practice shows that:

• about two-thirds of sniffer dog detections are false positives; that is, the person the dog identifies does not actually have drugs on them.
• the presence of sniffer dogs at events leads to risky drug use including: pre-loading before attending the event; using longer-acting drugs; and panic overdosing (taking all of one’s drugs at the same time) if a sniffer dog is nearby.

There is no evidence that the presence of sniffer dogs at events reduces drug use. Their presence may, however, deter patrons from attending these events. This has implications for businesses, individual employees and the local (often rural) communities who rely on the festivals economically.