New powers to secretly search homes and computers of people suspected of crimes ranging from murder to organised theft are wider than those now used against suspected terrorists.
The new covert search warrants would give police up to three years to delay informing targets they had carried out a raid on their property.
Standard search warrants, routinely issued by magistrates in closed hearings, require police to inform the target at the start of the raid.
Figures obtained by the Herald show that last financial year lower courts issued about 6600 search warrants to NSW police and other law enforcement agencies - an average of 18 a day. Only about 300 applications were refused.