KEY POINTS:
Manukau Mayor Len Brown wants Counties-Manukau police to add drugs to their priority list, alongside domestic violence.
Mr Brown chaired a "mayoral drugs summit" of 100 community leaders yesterday which called for "zero tolerance" of drug supply. He has asked to meet Prime Minister John Key in the
next two weeks to discuss the issue.
Mr Key's Government has promised to fund 300 more police officers in South Auckland and Mr Brown wants them to target P labs and cannabis-selling "tinnie houses".
"It's about their focus. We want them to focus on closing down the drugs trade in our community," he said.
He said Counties-Manukau Police Commander Mike Bush told the closed-door summit that the police were "looking to reprioritise".
"They know this is a major issue. They want to share this focus on shutting down the P labs and the dak houses," Mr Brown said.
"In our community the one priority they have been focusing on is domestic violence. We are saying we have to focus beyond that and acknowledge that this is an issue. If we don't shut this drugs trade down we are in danger of condemning the next generation of people in our community to something worse than we presently have."
He said police were already starting to see drug dealers using guns - notably in the murder of undercover police Sergeant Don Wilkinson outside a house with suspected P trade connections in September.
Mr Bush declined to comment yesterday. But new Police Minister Judith Collins, who is also MP for Papakura, said she was sure the 300 extra police in the area would have an effect on the drug trade.
"That is an operational issue for the Commissioner [of Police]," she said. "But you have got 300 extra police going into South Auckland to fulfil one of our election promises, and it will clearly have a major effect on police capacity in the area right across the board."
The one-day summit called for a six-point action plan including "strong leadership", "a consistent strategic response", "building community capacity", "engagement and intervention for those involved in drugs" and "targeted education for youth, parents and communities", as well as zero tolerance for supply.
"We are looking at a designated drugs line, an 0800 line, for people to pass on information," Mr Brown said.
He said agencies such as the city council, health services, schools, Housing NZ and Child, Youth and Family all held information about families with drug problems and needed to collaborate.
He has brought them together with key community groups in a 20-strong mayoral drugs taskforce which will hold a further summit in February or March, to which young people will be invited.
