Hon Phil Goff Minister of Justice
3 September 2004
Clan lab analysis backlog dropping fast
Deep inroads are being made into the backlog of methamphetamine clan lab cases waiting for analysis as a result of
Environmental Science and Research (ESR) recruiting extra staff, says Justice Minister Phil Goff.
"In February this year there were 180 clan lab cases waiting for analysis. That figure had been cut to 109 by August,
and ESR are on track to have cleared the backlog to a manageable level by the middle of next year," Mr Goff said.
"The reduction is the result of ESR recruiting two more scientists and a technician to its meth analysis team. Another
experienced scientist will start work in October, and an extra technician will be hired in support.
"This extensive recruitment was made possible by the government providing an extra $17 million over four years in this
year's Budget as part of a $39 million boost to the fight against meth and organised crime."
Mr Goff said the two new scientists working at ESR were recruited on fixed-term contracts, and had previously worked
for the United States Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), and a specialist lab in Canada. The third scientist starting in
October also formerly worked for DEA.
"ESR is also assisting Police and the Courts to address the waiting times for clan lab cases by adopting a case
prioritisation system based on court dates, which ensures the most pressing cases are analysed first.
"Since the system was introduced, there have been no further instances of judges criticizing ESR over cases that were
not ready to bring before the courts.
"In another initiative, ESR and Crown Law are now taking a case-by-case view of the forensic evidence required to
support of clan lab prosecutions.
"In some cases not every piece of evidence needs analysis in order for the prosecution to succeed. That will not hold
true for all cases, however, and the level of required analysis is likely to be determined as individual cases proceed
through the courts.
"Officials believe this approach has the potential to further reduce analysis backlogs and case delays," Mr Goff said.
ENDS