THE South Australian Police has remained tight-lipped about its next course of action after a case against five accused South East drug dealers was thrown out due to ongoing prosecution
delays.
On Monday, Mount Gambier Magistrate Teresa Anderson refused to grant another extension to SAPOL’s Major Indictable Brief Unit (MIBU) for a charge determination date.
Instead, she dismissed dozens of drug trafficking charges against the five defendants, bringing their bail to an end and allowing them to walk free from court.
A police spokesperson said they are still assessing their options in light of Monday’s decision.
“SAPOL is examining the judgement of the Magistrate and will liaise with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on what further action to take in response to this matter,” they said.
Law Society of South Australia president Amy Nikolovski said the decision in this case reflected a recurring problem in the system.
“The regrettable turn of events in this matter sadly do not come as a surprise and indicate the failings of the major indictable reforms brought in by the previous government,” Ms Nikolovski said.
“A recurring problem of the new system is the excessive time taken by police prosecutors to prepare a preliminary brief.
“This is largely a result of a lack of court and prosecutorial oversight over the MIBU.”
She said a system where matters are delayed for 12 months in this case and up to 18 months in other cases is simply untenable.
“It is contrary to the principles of justice that a defendant who has not been found guilty is waiting so long for matters to progress, particularly if they have been remanded in custody,” she said.
“It is also clearly not in the community’s interests if potential criminals are not properly dealt with by the law because of delays in gathering evidence.”
Ms Nikolovski believed the DPP needed to take a more active role in the preparation of preliminary briefs.
“The MIBU is tasked with gathering preliminary evidence without any oversight by the DPP and this is too often resulting in the DPP declining to accept briefs because they are inadequate,” she said.
“Giving the DPP greater control of matters from the time of arrest would streamline the process, but only if the DPP were adequately funded to perform these duties.”
Attorney-General Vickie Chapman refrained from commenting on the Mount Gambier case specifically, however said a review into the reforms was under way.
“As Attorney-General, I am unable to comment on the specifics of this case and other cases before the courts however I recently ordered an independent review of the Major Indictable Reforms introduced by the former Labor Government,” Ms Chapman said.
“The independent review, announced in March this year, is currently being conducted by Former Supreme Court Justice, the Hon Brian Martin AO QC.
“Mr Martin will investigate the operation and impact of the first 12 months of the reforms, which have changed the way major indictable matters are dealt with in the criminal justice system.”
No date has been set for the conclusion of the independent review.
With no changes expected in the near future, Ms Nikolovski raised another major concern the courts will soon face.
“With so many matters currently adjourned, there is likely to be a deluge of matters streaming into the District Court, causing the trial list to explode,” she said.
