WA: WA Justice department plans canine redundancies
PERTH, Aug 14 AAP - The West Australian Justice Department plans to reshuffle its caninesection to replace existing single-specialty dogs with multi-purpose Labrador drug dogs.
Attorney General Jim McGinty announced the revamp of the canine section today, sayingthe government's hard line on drugs in prisons was working due to the increased use ofsniffer dogs.
Sniffer dogs had helped increase the number of seizures of drugs and drug-related paraphernaliaover the past 12 months from 776 compared to 652 the previous year.
The canine detectives had also identified 178 "suspect" visitors who were subsequentlyrefused entry or offered non-contact visits, Mr McGinty said.
The previous year only 80 suspect visitors had been detected and refused contact visits.
Mr McGinty said specially-trained Labradors would replace existing passive or activealert dogs in a bid to boost the successes of the canine section.
Passive drug dogs are used to sniff people in lines or crowds and will sit down whenthey scent drugs. Active alert dogs search property for drugs.
Mr McGinty said the old, single-specialty dogs would be gradually replaced by new Labradorscapable of carrying out both functions.
"As these new dogs come on line, we will have the capacity to use one dog to do thejob of two," Mr McGinty said.
The attorney-general said cannabis was the main drug visitors tried to smuggle intoprisons but drugs in the form of powder or pills were also being trafficked.
Mr McGinty said there would be no let-up in the government's hardline approach to drugsin prisons.
His warning comes just two months after a prison industrial officer was sentenced to12 months' jail for trying to smuggle cannabis and ecstasy tablets into Perth's only privately-runjail.
Aaron Paul Velvelt, 24, was the second prison officer in six months to be charged withsmuggling drugs.
Earlier this year, 55-year-old Hemi Ewene Lewis was jailed for six years for attemptingto supply prohibited drugs to inmates.
AAP lk/jnb/sb
KEYWORD: PRISONS WA
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