Falconer launches drug courts
05 Dec 2005
The courts, Leeds and West London Magistrates' Courts, will pilot a new framework for dealing with offenders who carry out quality of life crimes like theft, shoplifting, or vehicle crime, often committed to feed a drug habit.
The framework kicks in when an offender is found guilty and is referred to the drug court for sentence. The same magistrates or district judges will sentence the offender and provide continuity and stability in reviews of offenders on drug treatment orders.
International evidence suggests that continuity in sentencing motivates offenders and leads to higher rates of successful completion of drug treatment orders. An increase in the number of completed orders is linked to a decrease in drug-related crime.
The offender will also receive support and treatment from probation and the Drugs Interventions Programme. The 18-month pilot will measure if drug courts:
- Reduce drug-related offending;
- Reduce drug abuse; and
- Are cost-effective.
The link between magistrates or district judges and the offender will continue until the drug treatment order is completed. If a breach of the order occurs the same magistrates or district judges will re-sentence the offender for their original offence, considering all options including custody.
Visiting West London Magistrates' Court in Hammersmith, Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor, Lord Falconer said:
"The drug court model aims to change the lives of people caught up in a vicious cycle where they steal to feed their drug habit, get jailed, come out and re-offend.
"Offenders will see the same faces every time they come for reviews of their treatment order, creating a more informal atmosphere where the goals set in the drug treatment order are reviewed.
"This is not a soft option for drug users who commit crimes. We want to get people off drugs and, therefore, off petty crime, by targeting the reason people on drugs offend. Failure to complete the treatment will result in the offenders being returned to court."
The model will also strengthen the combined work of the courts, probation officers, police, drug treatment providers and others by improving the exchange of information in relation to the offender and their treatment by using a set format. Lord Chief Justice Lord Phillips, who also attended the launch, said:
"The pilot will look at how to improve the way we handle low level drug-related crimes and measure the effectiveness of the model.
"We all know that prisons are bursting at the seams. The Home Secretary has emphasised that prison is the place for offenders who are violent or dangerous, but that for those who are not and whose offending is not so serious punishment in the community is to be preferred.
"Working with people who offend to feed a drug habit is the first step in getting them to turn their lives around, get off drugs and lead a productive life."