Explosive detector dogs deployed at Falls as police numbers double
Arrest numbers are low, but police numbers have doubled at the popular Marion Bay festival in recent years.
Tasmania
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THE numbers of police and sniffer dogs at the popular Marion Bay Falls Festival has doubled in the last two years — and firearms detector dogs have been added to the roster.
Information released by Tasmania Police under Right to Information laws shows that the number of police has increased from 66 in 2016/17 and 2017/18 to 137 in 2018/19 and 127 in 2019/20.
Two drug detector dogs were deployed at the festival in 2016/17 and 2017/18, that number doubling at the latter two festivals — when two dogs capable of detecting explosives and firearms were also deployed.
There were 19 searches of people conducted at Falls in 2018/19 and 17 in 2019/20, the documents reveal.
There were just two arrests at Falls this summer: one for assault and one for disturbing the peace.
Police carried out 8,500 breath tests, with 15 people testing positive for exceed the prescribed alcohol limit and nine testing positive for driving under the influence of drugs.
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