Drug court

Drug courts are judicially supervised court dockets that handle cases of non-violent substance-abusing offenders under the adult, juvenile, family and tribal justice systems. Drug courts are problem-solving courts that operate under a specialized model in which the judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law enforcement, mental health, social service, and treatment communities work together to help non-violent offenders find restoration in recovery and become productive citizens. In the USA, there are currently over 2,459 drug courts representing all fifty states and the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, Northern Mariana Islands and 111 tribal drug court programs.[1] In the UK, drug courts are currently being tested in various places.[2] In Australia, drug courts operate in various jurisdictions, although their formation, process and procedures differ. The main aim of the Australian courts is to divert illicit drug users from incarceration into treatment programs for their addiction.[3]

By country

Australia

Drug courts have been established in New South Wales, Queensland, South Australia, Victoria, and Western Australia. People appearing in Australian drug courts often fall outside the parameters for other pre-court services

Canada

Drug treatment courts (DTCs) are a recent phenomenon in the Canadian criminal justice system. The first Canadian DTC commenced in Toronto in 1998. The Federal Government currently supports six DTCs in Canada including: Edmonton (December 2005), Winnipeg (January 2006), Ottawa (March 2006), Regina (October 2006), Toronto (1998), and Vancouver (2001). Calgary and Durham have also recently initiated DTCs.[4]

New Zealand

A five-year pilot Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court was opened in Auckland, New Zealand in 2012, the first of its type for the country.[5]

United Kingdom

In December 2005, the United Kingdom began a pilot scheme of dedicated drug courts.[6] Family Drug and Alcohol Court are in operation in various locations throughout the country, including London, Gloucestershire and Milton Keynes where the service is run by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust.[7] In February 2015 it was announced that more would open in East Sussex, Kent and Medway, Plymouth, Torbay and Exeter, and West Yorkshire.[8]

United States

The first drug court in the U.S. took shape in Miami-Dade County, Florida in 1989 as a response to the growing crack cocaine problem plaguing the city.[9] Chief Judge Gerald Wetherington, Judge Herbert Klein, then State Attorney Janet Reno, and Public Defender Bennett Brummer designed the court for nonviolent offenders to receive treatment. This model of court system quickly became a popular method for dealing with an ever-increasing number of drug offenders. Between 1984 and 1999, the number of defendants charged with a drug offense in the Federal courts increased 3% annually, from 11,854 to 29,306. By 1999, there were 472 drug courts in the nation and by 2005 that number had increased to 1262 with another 575 drug courts in the planning stages; currently all 50 states have working drug courts. There are currently about 120,000 people treated annually in drug courts, though an estimated 1.5 million eligible people are currently before the courts. As of December 31, 2011 there are more than 2,600 drug courts operating throughout the United States.[10]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Huddleston, C. W. III., Marlowe, J.D., Ph.D., D., Casebolt, R. (2008, May). Painting the Current Picture: A National Report Card on Drug Courts and Other Problem-Solving Court Programs in the United States. Washington DC: National Drug Court Institute.
  2. ↑ "DrugScope reporting on an example of two Scottish trials in Fife and Glasgow". DrugScope.org.uk. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  3. ↑ "Australian responses to illicit drugs : Drug courts". Criminal justice system: Specialist courts. Australian Government: Australian Institute of Criminology. 6 September 2010. Retrieved 26 February 2012.
  4. ↑ Addiction and Mental Health Research Laboratory. (2009). Drug treatment Courts (DTCs). Edmonton,AB: University of Alberta. Fact sheet.
  5. ↑ "NZ's first Alcohol and Drug Court launched". New Zealand Government. 1 November 2012. Retrieved 7 November 2012.
  6. ↑ "UK Ministry of Justice reporting initial drug court trials". Ministry of Justice, UK. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  7. ↑ "Court is supporting families to stay together in Milton Keynes and Buckinghamshire". MK Web. 25 February 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  8. ↑ "Family Drug and Alcohol Courts to be extended in England". BBC News. 18 February 2015. Retrieved 20 March 2015.
  9. ↑ Kirchner, Lauren (April 25, 2014). "Remembering the Drug Court Revolution". Pacific Standard. Pacific Standard. Retrieved 2015-05-10.
  10. ↑ National Institute of Justice. Drug Courts. 2012. Retrieved August 18, 2013 from http://www.nij.gov/topics/courts/drug-courts/

Further reading

External links

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