Minister keen on courts for addicts
Government warned that initiative will be expensive and complicated. Kirsty Lawrence reports.
Specialist drug and alcohol courts aimed at offenders struggling with addiction could be introduced nationwide next year.
Justice Minister Andrew Little said the courts would look to stop treating offenders as another cog in the justice system, and he was exploring with other ministries the possibility of making specialised hearings a permanent fixture.
Two drug and alcohol courts have been trialled under the banner of Therapeutic Courts.
‘‘I really like them and what they achieve. I sat through a couple, one in Auckland and another in West Auckland. I’m now keen to see the evaluation of the pilot.’’
Little was not sure how much it would cost to add a new element to the justice system.
‘‘There are always going to be trade-offs.’’
But he believed that if the courts were well-executed they could save money in other areas, such as in dealing with reoffenders and addiction issues.
Offenders would have to meet conditions before being accepted before the new courts – such as the entering of guilty pleas – and those appearing would need to openly acknowledge their battles with drugs and alcohol, Little said.
Even then, the judge would have to grant the request.
Undergoing treatment is not a get-out-of-jail-free card. Once the offender had undergone treatment, they would still be sentenced.
Little could not confirm whether the courts would be part of the Labour Government’s mental health 100-day plan.
‘‘We haven’t thought that far ahead yet.’’
Northland judge Greg Davis has
I really like them and what they achieve. Justice Minister Andrew Little
said that up to 90 per cent of cases appearing before him involved addiction issues.
The Retreat founder, Roger Green, who started an alcohol and drug rehabilitation facility in Auckland, said the idea was great but would work only if the correct assessment procedure was in place.
‘‘Just because someone gets drunk and smashes a car or somebody, that doesn’t mean they are a diagnosed alcoholic.
‘‘They have to have systems that diagnose them.’’
There were not many people in New Zealand who could diagnose addiction, so these issues would all need to be addressed before the system was introduced, Green said.
However, he supported the idea and said it had been successful overseas.
National’s justice spokeswoman, Amy Adams, was a big fan of the alcohol and drug courts, and just before the change of government, she had secured more funding for them.
But although they were beneficial, they were expensive, and Adams said she had been unable to make the case for a nationwide expansion following the pilot.
There was also not enough data on the offenders who had gone through them.
Adams was unsure how Little would get around these issues, but she supported the plan.