Stuart Ayres med rel: Major reforms for police handling of drug exhibits

Under sweeping reforms by the NSW Government, police will now be able to destroy dangerous drug exhibits sooner, while maintaining sufficient samples for scientific analysis.

Minister for Police and Emergency Services Stuart Ayres said the new regime was proposed by the NSW Police Force and developed by a working group that also included the DPP, Department of Police and Justice, Ministry for Police and Emergency Services and the Forensic and Analytical Science Services (FASS) within NSW Health.

The changes include:

· Improving officer safety by destroying drugs earlier

· Retaining capacity for full analysis of drugs – but only where it’s needed

· Reducing corruption risks by destroying drugs sooner

· Reducing the drug analysis backlog at FASS, and the time it takes FASS to analyse drugs

· Reducing costs awarded against police, due to courts dismissing drug matters because police are unable to obtain analysis results in a timely matter

· Reducing unnecessary work and red tape, which currently includes:

o Full analysis on all drugs, even if no one can be charged;

o Multiple police officers attending court to give evidence regarding the chain of custody of a drug exhibit;

o Police transporting drug exhibits to and from FASS, costing about 2000 police hours and $1.2 million per year.

Mr Ayres said destroying drugs sooner makes police workplaces safer.

“Senior police and FASS personnel will be able to order the destruction of drug exhibits without a court order,” he said.

For small quantities of drugs, indicative only tests (‘presumptive testing’) will suffice, unless the defence seeks full analysis.

For larger quantities, an analyst will take two samples (A and B samples) prior to destruction. The A sample will be used for analysis and the B sample for independent analysis/re-analysis if required. The B sample is not destroyed until all proceedings (including appeals) are complete. Samples will be taken to FASS by security-vetted couriers, not by police.

Regulatory anti-corruption and security requirements will also be updated to better reflect existing robust and effective police procedures for handling drug exhibits.