More funding for drug analysis after criticism by judge

1.00pm

The Government will boost funding for the analysis of evidence from suspected methamphetamine laboratories to try and cut long delays in the hearing of cases.

The High Court has criticised the delays as "intolerable" after a drug suspect has been forced to wait almost a year for his case to be heard.

New Plymouth man Phillip Brian Marriner has been remanded in custody twice and declined bail since his first arrest in July 2003 for alleged methamphetamine offences.

A spokesman for Justice Minister Phil Goff today told NZPA that there would be a funding boost for drug analysis in a budget package that would be announced on Monday.

The Institue of Environmental Science and Research (ESR) blames soaring numbers of clandestine drug labs and a worldwide forensic scientist shortage for the delays.

The spokesman declined to comment on the details of the package, which will include several measures to combat the rise of P (pure methamphetamine), but said it would include extra funding for police to purchase ESR services.

"More police funding will enable ESR to actively recruit people from offshore, even if it's on a temporary basis."

He said it was projected that the number of P labs found by police was going to increase and the extra funding was aimed to partly meet the increase, and partly cut into the existing backlog.

Justice Judith Potter described the potential delays for Marriner as "extremely serious".

Delays put the rights of accused people at risk.

"The ESR situation... can only be described as intolerable," she said on April 30.

"It is to be hoped that those with the power to change this situation will take urgent steps to change it, otherwise the situation which the court must consider today, is likely to arise again and again and to get worse, not better."

Marriner's lawyer, Paul Keegan, said he was concerned his client had already spent a very long time in custody without police establishing any case against him because of the intolerable delay with methamphetamine lab analysis.

Normally police took only eight weeks to put their case to court in a depositions hearing.

"Now we're in May 2004 and there's been no progress."

After his arrest in July, Marriner had been 54th on the ESR list. By January, he had slipped to 176th.

"That's a potential delay of three years."

ESR general manager Wayne Chisnall said an American scientist had been hired to start work next month, after a meeting with Justice Ministry officials in February.

"ESR has started reducing the clan lab case backlog. Police have provided a budget commitment that they will pay for all work on clan labs, including the backlog, as each case is completed."

Laboratory testing staff had already doubled from four to eight since 2001, but ESR has said more scientists are needed to cope.

National Party police spokesman Tony Ryall yesterday accused the Government of ignoring the growing backlog, despite knowing about it for two years.

"When a drug dealer walks free because of the delays, ministers will run from accountability. The Government should have acted years ago," he said in a statement.

- NZPA