In the past, Wagga has been dubbed as the "ice capital", an image that could be hard to shake when the rate of ice possession in the Riverina has shot up by 400 per cent in the past 10 years

Senior Judge Roger Dive said Drug Courts could deal with the fundamental issues.

Fewer homes and businesses broken into, a wide variety of fraud offences reduced, and fewer cars damaged for just a handful of coins in the glove box to get that fix of ice.

These are the claims made by Judge Dive in his plea to expand specialised courts to deal with the rampant effects of ice in regional areas such as Wagga.

He made a submission to the NSW Inquiry into Ice calling for the expansion of the Drug Court.

The drug court was established in 1999 and now operates in Parramatta, Toronto and Sydney in NSW.

Its aim is to reduce the risk of re-offending by drug dependent people. Those who are charged with criminal offences can be diverted into programs designed to eliminate, or at least reduce, their dependency on drugs.

"The statistics in relation to the use of amphetamine-type stimulants by Indigenous Australians, and ATS use in regional and rural areas were worse than I expected, and increase my determination to see the Drug Court expanded again," Judge Dive said.

"Solution-focused courts, such as the Drug Court, deal with the fundamental issues which cause offenders and others to intersect endlessly with the legal system.

"We then address the foundations of life - housing, general, mental and oral health, employment and work readiness. We treat the family. That same process could and should use other interactions with the courts."

Judge Dive further made the point that the failure to expand means opportunities are lost, and the existing program is failing to meet the level of demand.

"Justice NSW and NSW Health could be asked to identify the city, regional and rural locations of greatest need," he wrote.

Julianne Carroll, the president of the South West Slopes Law Society, said Wagga is fortunate to have the Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment program.

She said it provides the opportunity for adult defendants with substance abuse problems to work, voluntarily, towards rehabilitation as part of the bail process.

"The people who run it do a wonderful job," Ms Carroll said. "It's a case-by-case issue, but magistrates have said positive comments in the local court to people who are engaged in MERIT."

Ms Carroll said while Wagga is lucky to have MERIT, options should be kept open for a Drug Court to be set up.

"If current statistics continue to rise and if the population is to hit 100,000, it will warrant a specialised court," she said.

"Drugs are a widespread issue, you see it before Wagga Local Court. I can see the MERIT program is doing great work, however, we want to make sure that it continues to be well funded."

Greg Higgins, the general manager of The Drug Detection Agency Riverina, said as the company operates across Australia, it has a good idea of trends.

"It is fair to say we do see different drug trends between the cities and the regions; this generally reflects in the choice of drug, for example cocaine versus ice," he said.

"Wagga is no different from those other areas of regional Australia, and it has the same challenges and issues. Unfortunately, ice and or amphetamine substances are one of those significant issues we see regularly.

"TDDA stats over the past four to five years have shown significant increases in the use of amphetamine-type substances, and in particular ice, so without a doubt, the use of ice is on the rise in the areas we specialise in."

Mr Higgins said TDDA works predominantly in the workplace.

"It is here we see a significant increase in positive tests for ATS and or ice, this is a significant indicator that it is not just being used by people in front of the judicial system but spread across our communities," he said.

"The Drug Court is one tool that will certainly help to combat drug issues, but must be part of a wider response including education, drug testing, access to rehabilitation and other such initiatives."

Mr Higgins said a big part of his work is education and training within the workplace to help people make an informed choice.

"The focus is on getting people to understand that they may have an issue with drugs and or alcohol," he said. "This hopefully means they get the help before they end up in front of the Drug Court."

The rate of ice possession in the Riverina has shot up by 400 per cent in the past 10 years, outpacing the drug's spread in most areas of Sydney.

That is according to evidence tendered to the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug Ice from NSW Police and the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research.

In Wagga from April 2018 to March 2019, there were more than 116.3 cases per 100,000 residents of amphetamine use or possession.

Just four days ago, a Wagga man caught with more than $20,000 worth of methylamphetamine in a car on the Hume Highway near Goulburn was sentenced to 18 months' jail.

Riverina Police District Superintendent Bob Noble said there is no doubt drug use, particularly around amphetamines and cannabis, is a problem for the Riverina region.

"We have seen charges and instances of people caught in possession of drugs steadily increase since the start of 2018 by our data," he said.

"Drug supply charges have also increased in that same period. Drug driving has been a big growth area for policing and the courts, so clearly there is an issue."

Superintendent Noble said police, along with government and community organisations, are working hard to improve the devastating effects but there is still a lot of work to be done.

"We are trying as a police district to be much more proactive rather than reacting to reports of crime," he said.

"We have been out and about, interacting with more people who could be criminals or who are criminals, so you are going to get more detections."

Earlier in the year, the inquiry was shown statistics that indicated the rate of amphetamine possession within the Riverina Police District during 2018 was above the NSW average and one of the highest in the state.