Drug Court celebrates 10th anniversary
(February 2009)

Attorney General John Hatzistergos said the NSW Government is considering extending the NSW Drug Court as part of “a big year for therapeutic justice.” In his address to the Drug Court’s conference in Parramatta on 6 February, Mr Hatzistergos said that the Drug Court could be extended to other locations in NSW. The first of its kind in Australia, the Drug Court is celebrating 10 years of operation. The Court has helped almost 1700 drug-dependent offenders to address the causes of their criminal behaviour. Around 150 defendants complete the program each year, following intensive drug treatment and rehabilitation. The Court’s success at rehabilitating non-violent, drug addicted offenders has given it significant international renown, according to Senior NSW Drug Court Judge Roger Dive, who also spoke at the conference. The Deputy Director of the NSW Drug Court by the Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research, Craig Jones, presented the Bureau’s second evaluation of the Drug Court. Graduates of the Drug Court rehabilitation program were compared to those who were not accepted into the program. The researchers found that those who had completed the Drug Court program were less likely to be reconvicted than offenders given conventional sanctions. Professor Richard Mattick, Director of the National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, gave a presentation outlining the trends in drug use in NSW and Australia. Professor Mattick’s research showed that Australia was experiencing an increase in the use of the class of drugs known as methamphetamines. These include the drug ice, a substance notorious for causing violent behaviour, which he said would be a challenge for a program such as the Drug Court.

Conference speeches & presentations Attorney General John Hatzistergos Professor Richard Mattick Nicholas Cowdery AM QC Craig Jones Judge Roger Dive and Magistrate Stephanie Tonkin Related news article Applause for former drug users who turn their lives around: Malcolm Knox, Sydney Morning Herald writes.. "The NSW Drug Court, now almost a decade old, has proven a great success." >> read article