$9900 forensic bill for police

Press, 3 December 1987, Page 9

$9900 forensic bill for police

A $9900 bill for forensic analysis in a Christchurch drugs prosecution is unlikely to faze the police, who have to pay it. The bill, $9OO of which is GST, is the charge for work undertaken by the D.S.I.R. in the police prosecution of a man on drug possession, cultivation and manufacturing charges who appeared in the District Court yesterday.

In a 10-page report a forensic scientist with the D.S.I.R.’s Chemistry Division detailed her analyses of drugs and drug equipment the police said were found when the defendant’s property was searched. A large number of exhibits was involved. Dr Max Robertson, the head of the Chemistry Division in the South Island and the region’s Government Analyst, said the police are charged for all work they asked to be done.

“The police have been paying for our services for four to five years now,” he said. He said the D.S.I.R. charged for all work for clients, which included the Health, Customs and Inland Revenue departments, the Railways Corporation and others. “It’s only in recent times that we have encouraged work for sundry individual paying clients, such as defence lawyers.” In the past the D.S.I.R.’s resources tended to be reserved for Government departments.

Dr Robertson said the department charged out on a man-hour rate that took into account all costs including wages, equipment, heating, lighting and telephone costs.

He described the $9900 bill as large, but not exceptional. Dr Robertson estimated three to five bills each year in Christchurch for drug-related analysis work would be in this range. “The bill for a murder would be bigger than

that,” he said. He said in cases involving the production of homebake morphine there were often many exhibits and the analytical work was often quite technical, involving tracing the likes of morphine and opiates. “We would analyse all exhibits to establish that, in fact, not only was the person in possession of morphine, but a manufacturing process had taken place. "We would also have to analyse chemicals to make sure we know they are the chemicals required (for morphine production).” Eighty to 100 exhibits might be involved, he said. Rape complaint A rape complaint by a Riccarton girl, aged 14, is being investigated by the Christchurch police. The girl told the police the rape occurred early yesterday while her parents were asleep upstairs in the house. She said she went to bed and listened to music for about 10 minutes before switching off her light about 11 p.m. She was woken about 12.20 a.m. to discover a young man lying on top of her. He put his hands around her throat, making it difficult to breath. The girl suffered bruising around her neck. The offender, aged about 18, may have been in her room about 30 minutes before leaving, when she screamed. Her screams woke her parents who heard someone walking down the driveway. The youth sought by the police has a dark complexion and is possibly part-Maori. He is about 183 cm (6ft) tall, of medium build, clean shaven with short, coarse hair. He worse a black round-necked jersey and jeans, and had with

him a grey Walkman-style radio. Car crash Four residents of the Christchurch Boys’ Home, in Stanmore Road, crashed an unlawfully taken car in Richmond last evening. The Morris 1100 was the only vehicle involved in the accident in Vogel Street about 8 p.m. The police have arrested one youth in connection with the incident and were still seeking the other three late last evening. They fled after the accident. Gun search A man seen loading a .22 rifle in Joy Street prompted a police search in the Shirley area last evening. Patrols were unable to find the man after the incident, about 7 p.m. Senior-Sergeant Dave Lawry said the police were following a positive line of inquiry late last evening. Intruder found A burglar was disturbed in a Marine Parde house about 10.50 a.m. yesterday. A nearby resident saw a stranger inside the house and moments later the occupant of the home arrived, chasing the burglar out. The police cardoned off the area. About 90 minutes later a man, aged 26, was spoken to at another address and arrested for the burglary. He will appear in the District Court this morning accused of burglary, theft, growing cannabis and intentional damage. Drue arrest

A woman, aged about 35, was arrested in Christchurch last evening for allegedly selling cannabis. She will appear in the District Court this mooting. Y