A high-profile judge has reignited calls for a specialised Aboriginal court for regional New South Wales to improve reform for indigenous youth caught up in crime. The 2016 Census data revealed more than half of the region’s Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children aged 15-17 appeared in Walgett Children’s Court. The president of the NSW
A new pilot project to introduce American-style ‘drug courts’ to Northern Ireland is being developed. They are courts aimed at keeping drug users out of prison and getting them into treatment. A senior American judge is in Belfast to advise local judges, politicians and others working in the criminal justice system about how they operate.
We hear so often about the drug problem fueling crime and tearing families apart, but what we don’t hear about is why. After a year-long consultation process, A Current Affair was given exclusive access behind the scenes in one of Australia’s drug courts, where hardcore addicts plead their case and try to stay out of
Courts dedicated to drug and alcohol related offences are to be rolled out across New Zealand in 2018. These specialised courts work with people through their journey of addiction, not just treat them as another cog in the justice system, says Justice Minister Andrew Little. That’s why he is exploring with various Ministries the benefits of
Planning to establish a new drug and alcohol court in the ACT is under way, with the University of New South Wales tasked with detailing how the institution could work. The court forms part of the ACT government’s pledge to slash recidivist offending, with $500,000 set aside in the latest budget to investigate the proposal. Tender documents
City council is going to ask the federal and provincial governments to put more money into the Calgary drug treatment court. The court is an alternative justice venue for people suffering drug addictions who break the law. Rather than simply sentencing and imprisoning offenders, the court ensures people undergo treatment for their underlying problems. Officials
The island’s growing drug problem, as seen in a spate of drug arrests and raids in recent months, is mirrored in the number of cases in the Superior Court of Guam. The number of drug cases, primarily involving methamphetamine, has steadily risen from 176 in fiscal year 2014, to 229 the following year and 261
The Saipan and Northern Islands Legislative Delegation has approved a measure appropriating $86,000 for the Drug Court. All 20 members present voted to pass House Local Bill 20-25 during a session on Tuesday. House Local Bill 20-25 was introduced by the delegation chair, Rep. John Paul Sablan, and its funding source is e-gaming revenue. The
The Drug Court will officially be reincarnated in the Queensland budget, set to be announced on Tuesday. Fairfax Media can reveal there will be new funding of $22.7 million over four years to reinstate the Drug Court in Brisbane, and also for court referral and support services. The drug, Murri and special circumstances courts were scrapped
The Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment (AODT) Court pilot has been extended for a further three years, Justice and Courts Minister Amy Adams announced today. The AODT Court pilot, which began in November 2012 in the Waitakere and Auckland District Courts, aims to help reduce alcohol and drug use, reoffending and imprisonment. It identifies offenders
A new specialty court on island focuses on addressing Guam’s numerous repeat offenders of the law against driving while intoxicated. The Superior Court of Guam launched the Driving While Intoxicated Court, which will utilize evidence-based therapeutic methods to lower instances of recidivism in cases involving intoxicated drivers. Under the DWI Court, after an extensive series
It was Christmas Eve 2014 and Ryan Curry was waiting in a rundown motel to do a drug deal.  He said that when the police arrested him instead, he was almost relieved.  “There was a point in time where I didn’t think I could ever get out,” said Curry, 28 years old and now clean. “But I
REPEAT drink drivers in Tasmania would be dealt with in a specialist “problem-solving” court under a proposed law reform that would deliver therapy rather than punishment. The Tasmanian Law Reform Institute has proposed the non-traditional court model that, if adopted, would be the first of its type in Australia. Researchers at the institute are seeking
The Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands’ Drug Court has 12 active participants and seven from the first batch will graduate this year, according to Superior Court Associate Judge Teresa Kim-Tenorio. Kim-Tenorio said they have 12 more awaiting clinical assessments and they have 20 or more waiting to be entertained. “So we have a long list,”
The Government of the United States of America looks forward to a “continued successful bilateral partnership” with the Government of The Commonwealth of The Bahamas, particularly in the war on the world drug problem, the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Internal Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Mr. Luis E. Arreaga, said