Police accused of over-hyping P problem

1.00pm

The New Zealand Drug Foundation is warning against "over-hyping" methamphetamine problems, following claims at the weekend that police are not targeting gangs making the drugs.

Foundation executive director Ross Bell acknowledged today there were issues surrounding the use of methamphetamines, known as P.

But he told NZPA his organisation believed a bigger problem was the level of resourcing police received to deal with alcohol problems.

"Alcohol is a far greater contributor to crime and violence than P," he said. "Front line cops will tell you that."

The Herald reported at the weekend that several police officers said there was an unwritten message not to go after gangs and P labs because dealing with the labs was too difficult and police chiefs did not want crime statistics to look bad.

The Police Association said gangs were making millions of dollars from selling pure methamphetamine in this country because they are not being targeted.

But Assistant Commissioner Peter Marshall responded saying police had launched several initiatives in the past three years aimed at boosting methamphetamine control.

That had resulted in a 28 per cent increase in recorded non-cannabis drug offences.

Police had dismantled 190 drug labs in the year to June 30 and 54 more in the four months since, he said.

Mr Bell said his organisation had not heard of any unwritten messages or directives.

"The police we have been meeting with, which is at a high level, are committed to addressing methamphetamine issues," he said.

"I think they are quite happy they got quite a good resource increase in the budget to do that."

A $39 million funding boost over four years to deal with methamphetamines was announced in May.

Among the measures funded by the package were $17 million for Environmental Science and Research, to provide a round-the-clock specialist response service to the police.

Another was a third 12-person police "clandestine lab" team, four chemical intelligence analysts and the creation of a national supervisor to co-ordinate police meth operations.

Mr Bell also pointed to recently released research by Massey University's centre for social and health outcomes research evaluation which showed a big rise in the value of the market for amphetamine, methamphetamine, MDMA and ecstasy.

The research put the value of the market at $168 million a year -- about the same as cannabis.

It said proceeds from the trade found their way to a small number of criminal gangs, who had introduced methamphetamine manufacture to the country.

Mr Bell said the use of methamphetamines had started off among the party community in the late-1990s.

But the Massey research showed it was now used by a broad spectrum of society.

As a result methamphetamine addiction was starting to be seen as an issue.

Historically, alcohol had been the main addiction problem, with cannabis second, Mr Bell said.

But some groups were now seeing methamphetamine addiction in the No 2 slot, and some others in third place.

- NZPA