New Melbourne drug court to help get ice offenders back on track
UPDATE: OPPOSITION attorney-general John Pesutto has slammed a scheme which would see drug addicted criminals given football tickets as praise for being clean at a new Melbourne drug court.
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OPPOSITION attorney-general John Pesutto has slammed a scheme which would see drug addicted criminals given football tickets as praise for being clean at a new Melbourne drug court.
“What is Victoria coming to under Daniel Andrews when people have to be bribed to obey the law,” Mr Pesutto said.
“People should abide by the law because it’s the right thing to do, not because there’s something in it for them.
If addicts who have broken the law need to be bribed with free footy tickets before they’ll comply with their drug treatment orders, they shouldn’t be on the program,” he said.
“They should only be on this program because they want to do it for themselves and their family and friends, not because they want to go to the MCG and see a free game of footy.”
The reward scheme was announced at the launch of the new Melbourne drug court today.
The $32 million court aimed at getting ice offenders back on track will oversee 170 drug offenders placed on a two-year recovery programs.
The court will process low-level criminals with drug addictions ranging from ice to cannabis.
They’ll be drug tested three times a week, given access to rehabilitation services and praised when objectives are completed.
“(Rewards might include) football tickets or a supermarket voucher but I think the most powerful thing I’ve seen in my court is when we give someone applause,” Magistrate Tony Parsons said today.
“These are people who might have dropped out of school and been called losers all their lives.”
Mr Parsons said the new program will be built up over the six months.
However he warned reoffending was treated seriously and any participants found flouting laws would not be tolerated.
He also said drug users who commit serious violent offences that cause harm to another person will not eligible.
The new court will compliment the 15-year-old Dandenong drug court and boost the capacity of the system from 70 to 240 offenders.
The Dandenong program has so far seen 17 per cent of offenders graduate drug and crime free.
While there are hopes to expand slightly by 2018, the new court will only deal with offenders living in the catchment area of the Melbourne Magistrates Court, which covers most suburbs within 12km of the CBD including the Yarra council, Footscray and St Kilda.
Melbourne’s western fringes and regional Victoria may have to wait years.
