PARENTS HIRE DRUG SPIES

BRISBANE parents are paying private detectives up to $20,000 to spy on their
children and find out whether they are using drugs.

The detectives are also using private school teenagers to infiltrate peer
groups and track other students' drug habits.

International Detection Service principal Keith Schafferius, an investigator
for 29 years, said families were paying anywhere between $500 and $20,000 to
find out about their children's drug habits.

"The parents who come to us are at the end of their tether and can't get to
first base with their child," Mr Schafferius said.

"We deal more with affluent private school kids, usually from 14-17 years of
age in grades 10 to 12 in Brisbane and the Gold Coast."

Mr Schafferius said 16 and 17-year-olds from "sister or brother schools"
volunteered to help investigate particular teenagers.

"There are some pretty reputable kids who want to see an end to drugs," he
said. "I've got a group of school kids who can become involved in
investigations - it's the only way to infiltrate peer groups and they are
happy to be involved."

Mr Schafferius said drugs most used by private school students were
marijuana, speed and ecstasy.

Brisbane Juvenile Aid Bureau spokesman David Farley said police were unaware
teenagers were being used for surveillance and found it hard to believe.

"Without knowing what he's having the children do he's in a very grey area
as to child exploitation, whether its voluntary or not," Acting Det Sgt
Farley said.

"If what is said is true he could be placing them in danger."

Police media spokesman Brian Swift said people could lawfully work on crime
prevention and detection but should not take the law into their own hands.

"He would need to be sure that when the kids are getting involved they were
making an informed decision," Mr Swift said.

"Parents would also need to be warned of what their kids were doing and, if
anything came of it, we would hope it would be passed on to the proper
authority."

Mr Schafferius said most parents he dealt with were in business and were too
busy to spend time with their children.

"They don't go to watch them play sport, they would rather give them a
fistful of money," he said.

"I think the main solution to the drug problem would be to educate parents
to become more of a family unit."

Families Association vice-president Patti Smith said she knew of families
who hired detectives, but they were just a bandaid.

"It's not a solution, the children who have these problems have had them for
many years and they have gone undetected by selfish, self-absorbed parents,"
she said.

"What do they do when the detective finds their kids are in trouble? They've
lost them by then."

Checked-by: Don Beck