Festival goers have been banned from Olympic Park in Sydney for six months by police despite not committing any offence in what has been labelled a ‘serious abuse of police powers.’
NSW police followed through on their threat earlier in the week that at the Above & Beyond festival on Saturday they would ban revellers if a dog reacted positively, even if no drugs were found.
Some festival goers posted photographs to social media of the infringement notices given to them by police at the event.
Some festival goers posted photographs to social media of the infringement notices given to them by police at the event
![NSW police followed through on threat earlier in the week that at the Above & Beyond festival on Saturday they would ban revellers if a dog reacted positively, even if no drugs were found](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/10/11/4D1A340000000578-5826479-NSW_police_followed_through_on_threat_earlier_in_the_week_that_a-a-3_1528624920233.jpg)
NSW police followed through on threat earlier in the week that at the Above & Beyond festival on Saturday they would ban revellers if a dog reacted positively, even if no drugs were found
![AAP reporter Jamie McKinnell was at the festival at Olympic Park on Saturday](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/10/11/4D1A33EE00000578-5826479-AAP_reporter_Jamie_McKinnell_was_at_the_festival_at_Olympic_Park-a-2_1528624920202.jpg)
AAP reporter Jamie McKinnell was at the festival at Olympic Park on Saturday
The move was heavily criticised by the NSW Greens, civil libertarians, and even a former Australian Border Force commissioner as an overreach.
In the security operation ticket holders were denied entry based on reactions from drug detection dogs even if no drugs were found.
Two detection dogs were used on crowds on Saturday night in a search area beyond an initial entry point and out of the reach of media cameras.
The ‘Sniff Off’ campaign, backed by the Greens, said it had been contacted by ticket holders who were denied entry despite no drugs being found on them.
‘This is a serious abuse of police powers and we will see the NSW Police Force in court next week,’ the group posted on Facebook.
Activist Tom Raue described the police behaviour as ‘disappointing’ after officers ordered his volunteers to stop handing out pamphlets about the drug dog program, citing a 2012 regulation governing the entire Sydney Olympic Park precinct.
An attempt by Mr Raue and other plaintiffs to secure an injunction that would have prevented the police plan going ahead fell flat on Friday after a judge ruled they had no cause to complain about alleged injustices in advance.
The Greens claim sniffer dogs can get it wrong in up to 75 per cent of cases and argue police should adopt harm-minimisation tactics instead.
A NSW Police spokesman was unable to confirm whether any festivalgoers were issued bans based on a sniffer dog reaction only.
The spokesman said two men were charged with supplying drugs after 100 MDMA capsules were allegedly seized.
He added that 13 people were refused entry for allegedly being drunk, five were issued ticket refunds and four people were charged with drug possession.
![Activist Tom Raue described the police behaviour as 'disappointing' after officers ordered his volunteers to stop handing out pamphlets about the drug dog program](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/10/11/4D1A33F200000578-5826479-Activist_Tom_Raue_described_the_police_behaviour_as_disappointin-a-5_1528624920953.jpg)
Activist Tom Raue described the police behaviour as ‘disappointing’ after officers ordered his volunteers to stop handing out pamphlets about the drug dog program
![The Greens claim sniffer dogs can get it wrong in up to 75 per cent of cases and argue police should adopt harm-minimisation tactics instead](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/newpix/2018/06/10/11/4D1A33EA00000578-5826479-The_Greens_claim_sniffer_dogs_can_get_it_wrong_in_up_to_75_per_c-a-4_1528624920261.jpg)
The Greens claim sniffer dogs can get it wrong in up to 75 per cent of cases and argue police should adopt harm-minimisation tactics instead