Following the introduction of a controversial law in 2001, New South Wales Police were given the power to deploy specially trained drug detection dogs at major public events, licensed venues and on selected routes across Sydney’s public transport network. In 2006, a report published by the New South Wales Ombudsman found that these were significant issues with the way drug detection dogs were being used by NSW Police, including civil liberties concerns, false positives, and low rates of accuracy. At the time of the report’s publication, most people stopped by the dogs had either been subjected to pat down search or a search of their belongings. The report mentioned cases of strip searches being conducted, however the Ombudsman noted that such incidents were rare at the time.