EDITORIAL: No time to have cold feet
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VICTORIA and NSW police should join forces to combat the rising use of the drug ice on the Border, a retiring North East magistrate says.
Speaking on the eve of his final day on the bench in Wodonga, Magistrate John Murphy said a cross-border police taskforce could help tackle a drug scourge that was “far worse” than anything seen before.
He also called for more money to be made available for drug rehabilitation, as jail alone was “not the answer” for those involved in drug crime.
Mr Murphy has served as a magistrate in the North East — including at Wodonga, Wangaratta and Benalla — for 21 years and said more and more young people were finding themselves in court on drug-related offending.
“It (ice use) is just rife out there,” he said.
BREAKING THE ICE: Police, communities across regional Australia suffering as ice epidemic feeds crime and destroys lives.
The idea of a cross-border investigation unit was first raised in February this year by federal Liberal MP Sharman Stone during the national parliamentary inquiry into drug law reform, but little action has been taken toward its creation.
Mr Murphy said there was “absolutely” room for the police and justice systems to work more closely in relation to ice, and that any issues over differences in the two states’ police processes and legislation could be overcome.
“Once the police get on board I imagine they’ll work very closely together. They (NSW police) would be sworn in as special constables in Victoria and vice versa in NSW,” he said.
“From a policing point of view I don’t see it as a problem at all.
“It’s a pity magistrates can’t cross borders too.”
But Mr Murphy said more money needed to be invested in drug rehabilitation services to ensure help was available when needed.
“You get cases where they (services) say there’s a bed available in two, three months time,” he said.
“You don’t want that, you want a bed available then, otherwise they just go back out and keep going.”
He said while jail time was at times the appropriate punishment, the need for rehabilitation remained.
“The public will say that a person won’t be committing a crime while they’re in jail, but you can bet they will when they come out and continue on their merry way.”
Mr Murphy said anecdotally there was an increase in the number of ice-related cases before the court, with at least one every day of the week.
“The sad thing is you’re seeing people from good homes committing some serious crimes — once they get hooked on that stuff all the boundaries go out the window,” he said.
In Saturday’s Focus, Magistrate John Murphy looks back at 34 years on the bench.