Sniffer dogs are costly, inefficient, and potentially dangerous, you already know the spiel and there’s a wealth of evidence out there supporting the claims. Still, police and governments insist on prolonging the largely ineffective program.
New South Wales has it worse than most. Officers armed with drug dogs routinely patrol not only events like music festivals, but train stations, bus interchanges, and even private businesses like nightclubs (occasionally even backstage).
The local Greens have had enough and back in 2014 launched the popular Sniff Off Facebook page, where alerts citizens to the locations of drug sniffing dogs, which they argue are an absolute breach of civil liberties.
However, the page recently ran afoul of some coppers with too much time on their hands and a very cynical worldview. As The Guardian reports, NSW police officers have been caught trolling posts on the Sniff Off Facebook page.
According to The Guardian, officers commented on posts on 29th February and 7th March that alerted users to sniffer dogs posted at Sydenham and Liverpool stations. “Yeah nothing to see here,” one copper commented on the February post.
The officer later posted a meme in which a German Shepherd is sitting at a computer, with the caption reading: “Saw bad man. Bit bad man. End of report.” Vice News subsequently confirmed that three officers had been leaving troll posts on the page.
[include_post id=”458225″]
Whilst the identities of the officers have been withheld, NSW Police said the officers involved in the trolling have been spoken to and will be counselled. According to Greens MP David Shoebridge, the actions of the coppers are in violation of police policies.
The NSW police force code of conduct and ethics clearly states that employees must “behave honestly and in a way that upholds the values and the good reputation of NSW police whether on or off duty”. We’re guessing that covers trolling Facebook pages with false info.
Officers are also barred from posting about police matters currently under investigation or “any material that may bring the NSW police force into disrepute, or otherwise embarrass the agency”.
“We have not publicly released the personal details of the officers in question as we are not interested in a personal witch hunt but in addressing the broader role of the police force in these actions,” Mr Shoebridge told The Guardian.
Whilst the situation looks like just a trio of coppers having a bit of a cynical (and frankly enraging) laugh, it speaks volumes about the attitudes of those in positions of authority and how they view what is ultimately a matter of civil liberties and public safety.
