A report on addressing drug policy reform in NSW has outlined more than 50 recommendations, including calling for an end to strip searches and sniffer dogs at music festivals.
Last year, the NSW Government held the state’s second drug summit, 25 years after the historic 1999 Drug Summit, to seek “ideas, policies and strategies to reduce these harms”.
Over 550 individuals and 250 organisations engaged in the process of meetings held over four days in regional NSW and Sydney.
Among its 56 key recommendations, the report proposed scrapping the use of sniffer dogs and strip searching for suspected drug possession at music festivals.
The report highlighted that attendees felt specific police practices, including strip searching, drug detection dogs at festivals, and police attendance at overdose scenes, required strong reform.
Attendees strongly oppose strip searches
Strip searching for suspected personal drug possession in all settings was “strongly opposed”, with attendees citing evidence regarding its harmful impacts. Psychological trauma, particularly for vulnerable populations, was seen as a major harm and attendees questioned the practice’s effectiveness.
Additionally, health professionals emphasised strip searching caused “unnecessary harm” and “damages trust” between young people and law enforcement, creating a barrier to help-seeking behaviour.
A statement from an LGBTQI+ young male adult with lived experience of disability and drug use who chose to remain anonymous in the report criticised the current laws within the state, noting that they encouraged “unhealthy and dangerous behaviours because they introduce a conflict of interest when it comes to fully reaching vulnerable communities.”
“The people who are likely to experience the greatest harms are the people we are strip searching and arresting, because clearly the NSW Government’s strategy is to demonise and humiliate drug users. You can’t forcibly remove our clothes in public and then claim to encourage healthy behaviours,” they said.
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NSW Drug Summit Recommends Scrapping Strip Searches and Sniffer Dogs at Music Festivals
