The Prison " Lottery " !

The Special Enquiry into the drug  " Ice " has revealed one of the curious aspects of the fate awaiting addicts who face a judge for the crimes they have committed.  It seems that their names go into a barrel and the lucky ones go into a drug treatment programme instead of going to prison.

An independent evaluation of the Drug Court of NSW has shown it to be more cost  effective than prison in reducing reoffending in people whose crimes were drug related.  Participants were less likely to be reconvicted than those who received the sanction of imprisonment.   Unfortunately, the number who could be so managed was limited by the number of designated treatment facilities available.

The enquiry heard that this opportunity existed for 170 participants in Parramatta, 40 in central Sydney and  80 in the Hunter.  Selection takes place in the rather brutal way of simply conducting a ballot.  The lucky ones go to a treatment centre - and the unlucky ones serve time behind bars.

The enquiry was told of the capricious nature of this selection.  Some offenders were excluded for simply living on the wrong side of the street.  That placed them in a local government area which was not in the catchment for a drug court.   Others had the misfortune to be scheduled in a particularly busy week.

The capricious nature of this selection sometimes splits life partners when both are involved in crime that is drug related and this is becoming more common when Ice is involved.   Obviously, the fate of dependent children is determined by the sentence handed down by the court and so the ballot outcome can have far reaching consequences.

The other big problem is the huge area of this state that is not covered by a drug court.  Regional communities such as Dubbo,  The Illawarra, the Central Coast and Northern Rivers have been agitating for the provision of a drug court without success.   This omission gives the lie to the depiction of " justice " that stands above many courts.   The statue of a blind woman, holding the sword of vengeance in one hand and the scales of decision in the other.   Only some of those found guilty of drug crime get the chance for rehabilitation.   For the others there is no chance because they didn't even get their name in the ballot draw !

Not only does rehabilitation enable many addicted to Ice to lead productive lives, it is a far cheaper option than keeping prisoners behind bars.