Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — My question is for the Minister for Police, represented by Minister Tierney. On Friday I launched a campaign in Richmond to end the needle nightmare, where we are seeing thousands of used needles in streets, Richmond traders losing business, residents having to resuscitate people who have overdosed and, very sadly, 34 tragic deaths every year. It is having a devastating effect on parents, children and of course other family members. During the launch there were police down a laneway just off the car park picking up needles. There was also a dealer dealing openly in the car park just a few metres away, in full view of the media and the crowd. My question is: how many police hours were spent dealing with heroin-related incidents, including overdoses, in the most recent annual reporting period?
Ms PATTEN (Northern Metropolitan) — I look forward to that response. I am also very interested in how many arrests were made for possession, as compared to trafficking, in the Richmond area, again in the most annual reporting period.
