TOO SOFT

[boulder]

POLICE Commissioner Mal Hyde believes South Australian courts are handing out lenient sentences to some drug dealers.

 

On occasion, judges and magistrates are failing to take into account the harm and negative effects caused by illegal drugs in the community when sentencing dealers, Mr Hyde said yesterday.

 

"From time to time you see penalties, particularly on the supply of cannabis, that you have got to ask yourself whether or not there is a full appreciation of the harm that is being produced by the supply of those drugs," he said.

 

"You have got to ask yourself whether there is a full appreciation of that as is reflected in the penalty."

 

Mr Hyde said courts should treat every level and type of drug dealing in the community seriously and deal with them severely so others were deterred from dealing in drugs.

 

"We do see courts, particularly with cannabis, producing some very lenient penalties for people who are engaged in large levels of supply . . ." he said.

 

"You need to have the penalties provided for all levels of dealing with and supplying drugs treated very seriously in a way which is going to deter people from supplying drugs.

 

"The penalties and the legislation are there to be used by the courts and it is up to the court to really make sure that appropriate penalties are applied."

 

Mr Hyde said police had evidence organised crime syndicates were now not just specialising in one type of drug, they were moving between drug types "to make a profit".

 

This reinforced the need for consistent sentencing for those convicted of any type of drug supply.

 

In a wide-ranging interview with The Advertiser on the state's illicit drug problem, Mr Hyde outlined his concerns and issues associated with amphetamines use.

 

These included:

 

LINKS between their use and violent behaviour.

 

LINKS between amphetamines and drug driving, including high speed chases.

 

THE increase of organised crime activity in SA to meet demand for amphetamines.

 

THE need for transparency in the ownership of licensed premises and security firms to ensure criminals do not infiltrate them.

 

Mr Hyde said police were particularly concerned at the increased use of more potent forms of amphetamines such as methylamphetamine and crystal methylamphetamine, known as Ice.

 

While the latest Illicit Drug Reporting System report, which surveys intravenous drug users, shows a slight decline in use of these drugs, Mr Hyde is cautious of the findings.

 

"There are other signs that it is freely available," he said.

 

"The more potent forms of drugs can heighten the amphetamine psychosis, they can heighten the aggression, the violence and the thrill-seeking behaviour that occurs in the community."

 

The discovery at Blair Athol a fortnight ago of the first laboratory designed to convert methylamphetamine into crystal methylamphetamine reinforced police fears its use was increasing. And the 81kg of pseudoephedrine tablets ? illegally imported into Australia ? found in the Blair Athol house provided more evidence organised crime groups were involved in the production of amphetamines in Adelaide.

 

Mr Hyde said the latest figures from the Drug Use and Monitoring survey, involving police prisoners at the Adelaide and Elizabeth watchhouses, revealed alarming levels of amphetamines use.

 

The report shows 75 per cent of detainees had a positive report on drug use with 33.8 per cent testing positive for amphetamines in the Adelaide watchhouse and 40.7 per cent positive for amphetamines at Elizabeth.

 

"The DUMA study underscores the level of drug taking by those who engage in criminal behaviour," Mr Hyde said. "The underlying amphetamine use by those who engage in criminal behaviour is extremely high."

 

Police were particularly concerned at the anti-social behaviour of amphetamines users.

 

"That is the thrill-seeking, aggressive type behaviour . . . particularly their driving," Mr Hyde said. "There are two aspects to that, drugs and driving and secondly, engaging in pursuits with police."

 

The DUMA report reveals many detainees were taking drugs and driving.

 

"Quite a lot of them reported they had failed to stop when driving a car and directed to stop by police," Mr Hyde said.

 

"And quite a number of them admitted having been involved in pursuits with police . . .the most common drug used before a police pursuit was methylamphetamine."

 

Mr Hyde said while there were no simple solution to the drug problem, it needed to be tackled from both ends ? supply and demand.

 

http://news.com.au/common/story_page/0,405...255E910,00.html

[Guest Wilderbud]

Strange story - it starts off discussing cannabis then continues with facts about amphetamines. Marijuana [even hash] has nothing to do with synthetic drugs.

[white_cluster]

yeah that was the biggest pile of crap I've ever read, was it really one article????

[Guest BudWaver]

Yes unfortunately mal hyde did say this and its in todays advertiser newspaper...

 

He likes to belabour the point that gangs swap mj for harder drugs interstate..thus confusing the public about why a lot of mj is grown..ie for personal use

 

Mal is an ultra conservative who beleives that all people involved in drug taking or growing or making should rot in jail for the rest of their natural lives

[free choice]

typical mr HYDE .... give me Dr Jekyll any day ...

 

----- well he is the police commisioner ..after all.

----- so expect him to be a blinkered bigoted bastard.

----- big on busts & bashing brothers behind bars...

----- brainwashed braggin' bully

 

have a toke ya silly old fool !..... :angry:

 

then make up your mind.

Edited February 14, 2004 by free choice

[El_Badass]

This article stinks, it's total bs! It's a call to ensure the public is given a very slanted view of mj growing, to get the more conservative people who don't smoke to believe that growing is the reserve of bikies and other criminal organisations. And by saying that sentences are too lenient he's trying to ensure that all three arms of the law work together to make life difficult for all growers.

This comes after state premier Rann made laws on growing much harsher, and now people are tipping off the cops and growers are gettin busted left right and centre. Geez if it continues this way they'll run out of commercial growers to bust and go after personal growers, and if they feel the need to flex for tha cameras and the papers then growers like the guys here could end up in jail for way too long.