Drug offences jump by half
Marlborough has the highest rate of drug supply offences in the country, new statistics show.
The figures, released under the Official Information Act, show 77 drug supply offences per 10,000 people in the region for the year ending June 2016.
This is an increase of 55.7 per cent on the previous year, with Marlborough posting higher rates of drug supply offences than the main centres of Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch.
Marlborough area commander Inspector Simon Feltham said methamphetamine had become more readily available in the region over the past two years, with commercial quantities being transported from the upper North Island.
However, the figures could be down to two major drugs operations, Operation Book and Operation Queen, having wrapped up in the region.
‘‘It might be this year those numbers will go down significantly, but that’s not an indication of a lack of enforcement, it’s the way the statistics fall in the reporting period,’’ Feltham said.
‘‘There’s definitely an issue with drug availability in Marlborough, as there is in the rest of the country, and that’s something we’re working hard to combat.’’
Marlborough Mayor John Leggett said the statistics surprised him, and the council and the rest of the community needed to work with police to help reduce drug supply and use.
‘‘I think as a community, when you hear a statistic like that, we’ve got to take stock and take a good look at ourselves,’’ he said.
‘‘We’ve got a good image, which is something we should be really proud of and that we should be doing everything we can to maintain – this isn’t the sort of publicity we need.’’
The statistics, which were requested by the Labour Party, also showed Marlborough had the highest increase in drug use offences in the country.
The number of offences increased from 161 in the year ending June 2015 to 242 a year later, an increase of 50.3 per cent.
Feltham said drug offences, particularly the sale of methamphetamine, family violence and alcoholrelated offending were priorities for the police in Marlborough.
There was a corresponding increase in dishonesty offending, including theft and burglaries, that Feltham linked to the avail- ability of drugs, as people stole to fuel their habits.
However, the number of reported offences showed police were being proactive in their approach to dealing with drugsrelated crime, he said.
‘‘The level of dishonesty offending is coming back up to where it was five years ago, any rise in crime is a concern but Marlborough is still a safe place to live and work.’’
Anecdotally, the region did not have the same problems with meth than areas of the North Island, he said.
The number of foot patrols had also declined in the reported period, from 1427 in the year ending June 2015, to 1008 a year later, for a drop of 29.4 per cent.
However, Feltham said foot patrol numbers were volatile, as a patrol lasting a day would be logged in the same way as one lasting an hour.
He disputed any suggestion that it meant police resources in Marlborough were stretched, saying there was 90 constabulary in the region.
‘‘We’re in a position where there’s always an opportunity to have more staff, and if we did we’d keep them busy,’’ he said.
‘‘But I’m confident we’ve got enough police resources to provide a good service to the people of Marlborough.’’
Police Association president Chris Cahill said on Monday that police services were being stretched too thinly, contributing to a rise in crime.
‘‘In certain places we are stretched to breaking point,’’ he said.
‘‘That is mostly affecting those front line staff who are going from job to job, not getting a break in 10-hour shifts, and impacting on the service we want to provide.’’