Beat crime cycle

‘If I’m driving along the road, and there is someone coming the other way, would I prefer it to be someone who’s just served their jail time, or would I prefer someone who’s been actively working on their addiction issues?”

Those are the words of Judge Lisa Tremewan, the driving force behind the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court which was set up to give people who have committed minor offences stemming from their addiction a chance to undertake a treatment programme instead of jail.

They are actually working with a judge who is trying to instil a change rather than one just deciding the length of their prison sentence. And it’s showing positive results. As we report today, of the 453 offenders who have been put through the programme, 40 per cent have graduated and 60 per cent of those have not reoffended. One of the successful graduates tells of stopping at a pub to use the toilet and not having the urge to get a drink.

Even when they do reoffend, overseas research shows the type of offending is less serious.

When offenders go through the traditional court process, 60 per cent have reoffended within the same period.

But after seven years, there is no commitment the programme will carry on, let alone be expanded to the rest of the country past 2020.

Rather than clog up the prison system at a cost to taxpayers — one inmate costs about $100,000 over 12 months — why not give them the tools to make a change?

Justice Minister Andrew Little says he is a fan of the approach but is awaiting the result of the inquiry into mental health and addiction before making a commitment to the programme.

He’s hinted next year’s budget will have commitments for new treatment services.

Let’s hope the Government can see the public is surely better off when chronic drink drivers, for instance, have been successfully treated to break their addiction rather than facing someone fresh out of prison and back to hitting the bottle or P pipe.

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