Revelation Highlights Need For Drug Action

Wednesday 10 Dec 2003 Dr Muriel Newman Press Releases -- Crime & Justice

Today's revelations that Coral Burrows' killer was high on methamphetamines in the days before her death adds urgency to the need for Labour to take the methamphetamine epidemic seriously, ACT New Zealand Police Spokesman Dr Muriel Newman said today.

"While some positive steps have been taken - such as reclassifying the drug and its components - the Government has failed to act more effectively on this issue," Dr Newman said.

"Police require more resources to be able to deal with methamphetamine crime - the criminal gangs manufacturing and distributing this drug are sophisticated and dangerous - and our laws must be sharpened to become a proper deterrent to gang crime.

"Further, the ESR must be beefed up - to reduce waiting times for forensic analysis from two years to a month - or the entire area must be opened up to private competition as is done in the UK.

"At the end of the day, good policing is the key to getting on top of the meth epidemic. This means the Government must respond appropriately - not like in this year's Budget, where Labour allocated funding for police methamphetamine response teams to begin in 2004.

"If the Labour Government fails to take this issue seriously then, without a doubt, New Zealand will witness more dreadful tragedies like the death of Coral Burrows," Dr Newman said.

ENDS

For more information visit ACT online at http://www.act.org.nz or contact the ACT Parliamentary Office at act@parliament.govt.nz.

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