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New Zealand Law Commission - Government Responses |
Last Updated: 18 September 2016
Simon Power, Georgina te Heuheu
19 October, 2011
Drug Court pilot announced for Auckland
The Government has agreed to establish a Drug Court pilot in Auckland to deal
with offenders with severe alcohol and drug dependencies,
Justice Minister Simon
Power and Courts Minister Georgina te Heuheu announced today.
The Law Commission’s review of the Misuse of Drugs Act recommended the
Government consider establishing a Drug Court pilot subject
to a full analysis
of the likely cost-effectiveness and availability of funding.
The pilot, which will run for five years, will use a pre-sentence model by
way of adjournment and deferral of sentencing. It will
deal with approximately
100 offenders a year at treatment-related costs of $2 million.
Mr Power said the court is expected to be up and running from the second half
of next year. It has not been decided where in Auckland
it will sit.
“Establishing a Drug Court delivers on priorities under the
Government’s Drivers of Crime work programme, which includes
reducing
alcohol-related harm and improving the availability and accessibility of alcohol
and drug treatment services.
“The Drug Court will deal with offenders with severe addiction problems who
require intensive treatment to help break the cycle of their substance
abuse.
“It will be an option for offenders, including recidivist drink-drivers, who plead guilty to an offence where alcohol or drugs have been a contributing factor, and where there is a serious penalty, such as a term of imprisonment of up to
3 years.”
The Minister for Courts, Georgina te Heuheu, said offenders will be required
to attend a treatment programme, be subject to random
drug testing, and be
required to regularly attend the court.
“Once offenders have successfully graduated from their treatment
programme, their success could be taken into account at sentencing.
”Although Drug Courts are a resource-intensive option, international research
shows they can reduce recidivism by an average of 8 per cent.”
Officials will report to Ministers in February on progress on designing and implementing the court.
The cost primarily will be funded from a $10 million investment package
announced today, which is aimed at reducing harm from alcohol
and drug
abuse.
There will be a full evaluation of the court’s effectiveness, costs, and benefits after four years, and a decision about whether it will continue and if it will be introduced elsewhere will be made after the evaluation.
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URL: http://www.nzlii.org/nz/other/lawreform/NZLCGovResp/2011/122.html