As A Consequence

INTRODUCTION In current decades rates of imprisonment have increased throughout the industrialised world. One of the motorists of this increase is the proportion of people whose jail time is connected to their use of illegal drugs. It is clear that punitive reactions alone have actually been unsuccessful in ending illegal drug usage and associated criminal offense. Further, for numerous wrongdoers, conviction and jail time just substances the negative effects of drug addiction. As a repercussion, there has actually been restored interest in Australia, and in other places on the planet, in programs that divert drug dependent offenders from the criminal justice system into education and treatment programs. The Queensland Government is presently piloting a number of initiatives that seek to divert culprits with drug problems into rehab programs and other types of treatment. The main goals of the efforts are: • to enhance community security by attending to the link in between substance abuse and criminal activity; and • to improve health and well being of transgressors who are drug reliant. The initiatives consist of: • Drug Court Pilots in south east Queensland and north Queensland — the Drug Courts divert severe transgressors who are drug dependent into an extensive corrective program. • A Police Diversion Program for Migraine Medical Cannabis Offenders — the Police Diversion Program, operating across Queensland, diverts eligible offenders charged with individual usage quantities of cannabis to an evaluation and education session. • A Court Diversion Program for Illicit Drug Offenders — the Court Diversion Program, operating in Brisbane, diverts qualified offenders charged with personal use amounts of illegal drugs to an evaluation and education session. The 3 efforts are pilots; nevertheless in 2003, the Queensland Government extended financing for the Drug Court Pilot. The Commonwealth Government has actually shown that it will also continue funding for the Queensland Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative, under which the Police Diversion Program and Court Diversion Program are funded, for another four years. Dr Melissa Bull of the School of Justice Studies at the Queensland University of Technology was commissioned by Policy Research and Law and Justice Policy, Policy Division, Department of the Premier and Cabinet in late 2002 to prepare a literature review on best practice in the diversion of drug offenders from the criminal justice system. The report was commissioned to support Queensland Government decision-making worrying drug diversion. The report provides a helpful overview of developments, trends, and results in drug diversion in a number of worldwide and interstate jurisdictions, including an analysis of finest practice standards for programs of this type. It draws not only upon the research literature on the diversion of drug culprits from the criminal justice system, but likewise upon the drug treatment literature. The outcomes of this literature evaluation support investment in drug diversion initiatives but likewise raise essential issues about gain access to for marginalised groups, a typical issue for diversionary programs.