A magistrate and two lawyers are backing a fresh approach to tackling crime after rates of ice possession in the Riverina increased by 400 per cent in a decade.
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A court specifically targeting drug addiction in young people has been touted as an aid for the battle against ice and crime. Earlier in the year, Senior Judge Roger Dive said drug courts could deal with the fundamental issues in regional areas. Now, a magistrate and two lawyers are backing calls for a court in Wagga, but with a focus on youth offenders.
The latest data from BOCSAR shows that in Wagga from June 2018 to June 2019, there were 128 incidents of using or possessing amphetamines. For the same period, from 2009 to 2010, there were only 14 incidents.
A Wagga City Council report released earlier in the year stated that 61 per cent of crimes committed in 2016 were done so by young people between the ages of 10 and 29.
The Drug Court was established in NSW in 1999 and now operates in Parramatta, Toronto and Sydney, but only for adults. It aims 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.
For 12 years, the Youth Drug and Alcohol Court played a role in the NSW criminal justice system, offering young people who had fallen by the wayside a second chance to tackle their drug and alcohol-related offending.
But in 2012, the state government decided to axe the program, citing funding problems.
Currently, Wagga only has the Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment program, which provides a chance for adult defendants with substance abuse problems.
Justice Hilary Hannam passionately advocates for the establishment of a drug court, be it one that targets both youth and adults, or two separate ones.
Justice Hannam's judicial career began with her appointment as at Wagga Local Court in 2000.
Combined with her roles as the presiding Magistrate of the Youth Drug and Alcohol Court, and the magistrate in the Northern Territory for the only drug court that targeted youth and adults, Justice Hannam has seen various forms of the court in action.
"Drug courts themselves have been the subject of a huge amount of research," she said.
"They are well documented in providing a better method of rehabilitation in terms of addressing the underlying causes of offending than anything else is utilised."
Justice Hannam said the drug court model works if there is sufficient funding, and the appropriate services to support it.
"There is absolutely no reason logically why it shouldn't be available for young offenders," she said. "There is every single reason it should be available because it would be a form of early intervention.
"I do believe Wagga would benefit because it is the largest inland city in NSW."
If a drug court were to be set up, Justice Hannam recommends for it to be done so under legislation.
Matthew Beckmans, an associate at Forte Lawyers, previously advocated for the specialised court while working in Wagga. He said BOCSAR statistics showed a clear connection between property crime and drug use, and youth offenders were an issue for the Riverina.
"The statistics concerning low-level crime and the correlation between that and the drug problems that are currently existing in Wagga tend to suggest there is a real need for a different type of therapeutic justice as opposed to what's currently operating," Mr Beckmans said. "The MERIT program is quite limited, so those who engage in low-level property crimes, for example, don't have the benefit of engaging in the MERIT program because that's only limited to drug crime."
Mr Beckmans said the main barrier to the implementation of a drug court in regional areas is "without a doubt" a funding issue. He added that for such a specialised court to be successful, it would need to act as a hub for the Riverina.
"There would need to be a catchment area within which people would fall within," he said.
"It is desperately unfair to some who miss, but understandably one must draw the line at some point."
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Mr Beckmans said there would need to be an amendment to current legislation to enable the appointment of a magistrate to have power under the Drug Court Act.
"If we were talking for children ... there would need to be legislation specifically made about that," he said.
Fahim Khan, a senior lawyer at Sydney Criminal Lawyers, worked with Aboriginal Legal Services, including in Wagga, and said regional areas are missing out on crucial funding. Mr Khan said a drug court, but more specifically the establishment of a similar program to the Youth Drug and Alcohol Court would be exceedingly beneficial to the region.
"Not initially, not straight away or overnight, but over a long period you will have a significant impact," he said.
"Once someone is addicted on drugs and gets into that cycle, it can change their whole life, and it is tough to get out of, without the proper intervention and assistance from the government services."
Mr Khan said it is even harder as an individual living outside of metropolitan areas to access services. He added that's why having a youth drug court, in combination with education and other assistance will have a significant impact.
"What it will allow, is the young generation and the young individuals or those who are not too far off the path, to be allowed to rehabilitate and perhaps to become a better citizen," he said. "I hope that those individuals, if they can break out of the cycle, then they can be the speakers about rehabilitation to their community and they would then have more impact than whatever assistance we can provide."
Mr Khan said Dubbo has been trying to open a drug court, and if the Riverina were to obtain one that targeted youth, it would significantly curb the addiction and the drug abuse.
"One of the underlying factors that lead to young individuals [doing drugs] is it gives them an escape from the harsh realities of life because they grew up in a community or in a family that can't support themselves," he said.
Mr Khan said a limitation to specialist courts is the number of cases it takes on.
"In Sydney, it has to go through a ballot before someone's case could be chosen to be dealt with in the drug court," he said. "Then, obviously, it takes a while to demonstrate rehabilitation, but there may not be the case that everyone can succeed. There needs to be more slots available and more resources diverted for the drug court to deal with more matters."
Mr Khan said a specialised court needs to work in conjunction with other preventive measures.
"What it needs to be coupled with is, obviously, more rehabilitation programs and most importantly, education," he said.