Just Treatment: a review of international programs for the diverions of drug related offenders from the criminal justice system

INTRODUCTION In recent decades rates of imprisonment have increased throughout the industrialised world. One of the drivers of this increase is the proportion of people whose imprisonment is linked to their use of illicit drugs. It is clear that punitive responses alone have been unsuccessful in ending illegal drug use and associated crime. Further, for many offenders, conviction and imprisonment only compounds the negative impacts of drug addiction. As a consequence, there has been renewed interest in Australia, and elsewhere in the world, in programs that divert drug dependent offenders from the criminal justice system into education and treatment programs. The Queensland Government is currently piloting a number of initiatives that seek to divert offenders with drug problems into rehabilitation programs and other forms of treatment. The primary aims of the initiatives are: • to improve community safety by addressing the link between drug use and crime; and • to improve health and well being of offenders who are drug dependent. The initiatives include: • Drug Court Pilots in south east Queensland and north Queensland – the Drug Courts divert serious offenders who are drug dependent into an intensive rehabilitative regime. • A Police Diversion Program for Cannabis Offenders – the Police Diversion Program, operating across Queensland, diverts eligible offenders charged with personal use amounts of cannabis to an assessment and education session. • A Court Diversion Program for Illicit Drug Offenders – the Court Diversion Program, operating in Brisbane, diverts eligible offenders charged with personal use amounts of illicit drugs to an assessment and education session. The three initiatives are pilots; however in 2003, the Queensland Government extended funding for the Drug Court Pilot. The Commonwealth Government has indicated that it will also continue funding for the Queensland Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative, under which the Police Diversion Program and Court Diversion Program are funded, for another four years. Dr Melissa Bull of the School of Justice Studies at the Queensland University of Technology was commissioned by Policy Research and Law and Justice Policy, Policy Division, Department of the Premier and Cabinet in late 2002 to prepare a literature review on best practice in the diversion of drug offenders from the criminal justice system. The report was commissioned to support Queensland Government decision-making concerning drug diversion. The report provides a useful overview of developments, trends, and outcomes in drug diversion in a number of international and interstate jurisdictions, including an analysis of best practice benchmarks for programs of this type. It draws not only upon the research literature on the diversion of drug offenders from the criminal justice system, but also upon the drug treatment literature. The results of this literature review support investment in drug diversion initiatives but also raise important issues about access for marginalised groups, a common problem for diversionary programs.