DRUG DOG FOR RAIL STATIONS

Rockdale Council voted late last month to acquire and train a resident
drug detec tion dog to work with police to "reduce the sale and use of
illicit drugs" in its southern Sydney area.

The council also voted to hire people to take secret video camera
footage of illegal drag-racing cars.

The move by Rockdale Council is part of a growing trend by local
authorities to control law and order issues.

Some Sydney councils have erected no loitering signs and security
cameras while Hurstville Council has given two of its rangers
police-style uniforms and their own patrol car to keep an eye on crime.

On August 25, the council supported a minute by mayor Kent Johns to
acquire a drug detection beagle dog, similar to those found in airports.

Mr Johns held discussions with Georges River police commander Ike
Ellis over the weekend about the plan.

Initially, the council was looking at training one of its rangers to
be the dog handler but police now appear keen to handle the dog with
funding assistance from the council.

Mr Johns said the dog would be able to stop people entering the
southern Sydney area through its railway stations after buying hard
drugs at Kings Cross and Cabramatta.

He added that it would also be helpful to patrol places where drug
syringes were regularly found, at Brighton and Arncliffe.

He said a memorandum of understanding would be signed between the
police and council, to ensure the animal spent a large proportion of
its time patrolling the Rockdale area.

"The dog doesn't start barking its head off after smelling drugs, it
simply sits down next to the person," he said.

But the NSW Council for Civil Liberties is concerned about the concept
of drug detection dogs being posted at railway station gates.

"The amount of surveillance and intrusion people are under is starting
to really get over the top," president Kevin O'Rourke said.

"With dogs running around watching people, you would think the area
had turned into a police state,if people were targeted because of the
way they looked or dressed.

"For instance, would they be introducing these dogs at Lindfield on
the north shore?"

In the mayoral minute, Mr Johns said: "The scourge of society the
world over is the increasing sale and use of illicit drugs. Working
with the police, we can develop successful strategies that could
virtually eliminate the entry of drugs into the city."

"I would have concerns that the dogs could be used in a discriminatory
way While the cost of training the dog is unknown, the dog itself may
only cost $500, plus $20 a week for upkeep.