Chris Cahill: Police Association president calls for tougher penalties for high-level drug offenders

The Police Union says judges let too many high-level drug offenders off easy.

A meth bust in Hawke's Bay and Gisborne in 2021 ended with the arrests of 15 - but only five went to jail.

Police Association president Chris Cahill says the problem is sentence discounts.

He says one person who imported 4 kilos of meth got five different discounts.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Zimby.

Speaker 2 (00:02):
All right, the police are up tight and upset, and
in fact they've said to be fuming over the very
light sentences handed down to fifteen people who were busted
at an anti myth operation Hawks Bay and Gisborne. Operation
Horizon was carried out back in twenty twenty one, and
one of those arrested was Aria Hubbard, a major player
in the meth supply chain for the Mango Marbin wide raw.

(00:23):
Only five of the people arrested got jail time, only five,
and Aria Hubbard was not one of those five. And
Chris Carhill actually joins us now as the Police Association president.
Hello Chris, Aft to know and Andrew, how do you
run a math supply chain for the Mungo marb and
dodge jail time?

Speaker 1 (00:42):
All? This is the problem we've got. We're talking about
top end offenders here. We're not saying everyone should go
to jail and lock them up the key, but it's
the top end stuff and what we're saying is the
discount sort of apply. I'll give you a really bad example.
We've got one recently that a significant high end criminal
importing four k loads of a minute and the judge

(01:02):
to Cropt has described it as significant. High end starting
point of twelve years, gave twenty five percent off for
guilty plea after three years, twenty percent for cultural report,
ten percent for addiction issues, ten percent for impact that
have on family, ten percent for a brain injury, seventy
five percent discount. Throw in another twelve months because they've

(01:23):
been on alet trant Vale. That twelve year starting point
went to twelve months home d well.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Okay, well, hey, Chris Christ costumers, it does frustrate. It
frustrate to everybody. Let's talk about aria. Actually, let's talk
about that one starting point eight years. The judge was
Bridget Macintosh, then given a twenty five percent discount. Coasey
pleaded guilty. Fifteen percent discount for a deprived upbringing, even
though I thought cultural reports were gone, but it doesn't
seem so. Fifteen percent discount for rehabilitations. She'd undertaken ten

(01:52):
percent discount for the direct imprisonment or the impact imprisonment
would have on her four children. And so the sentence
went from eighty four months to twenty nine months.

Speaker 1 (02:01):
Yeah, it looks like judges do as much as they
can to get it down to the range where they
can then give home to tention and at some story
ignoring that it's not about all about the offender. It's
got to be about the deterrent, especially when the harm
meth's doing in society. I mean basis like wire are

(02:22):
wrecked by the men. That's the harm, the family harm
that curves them to distress all those sorts of things.
At least can I ask.

Speaker 2 (02:29):
You one last question though, where they directed to do
all these discounts?

Speaker 1 (02:33):
Well?

Speaker 2 (02:34):
Have they come up with this idea on their own?

Speaker 1 (02:37):
I think the clear direction about reducing the number of
people in prisons and limiting them to violent offenses and
sex offenses, and so drug dealers are getting the benefit
of that sort of direction. That's why I'm supportive of
them to reduce the amount of discoutching gurve to forty
and we'd like to see that low past.

Speaker 2 (02:57):
All right, Chris, I thank you. That must be frustrating.
Chris Carhill are from the Police Association.

Speaker 1 (03:02):
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