DRUG COURTS HAVE MERIT We should pay attention to Attorney-General Wally Oppal's ideas about dealing with chronic petty criminals. As a former judge, he's well aware of what powers the revolving doors of our judicial system. He would certainly have a sense of what isn't working. The sad reality is that jail sentences aren't proving much of a deterrent. Sure, they keep criminals from re-offending during the times they're behind bars. But that's about all. Unless society wants to lock up petty crooks indefinitely - and is prepared to pay the enormous costs of doing that - we'd better try some other strategies. Unfortunately, those who use their imaginations to ponder other ways of tackling the problem often end up accused of being soft on crime, or of being too sympathetic to the criminals. That's an unfair and foolish criticism. The Wally Oppals of the world want to reduce crime. If that means turning some petty criminals into productive members of society, then that's a strategy that makes sense. We can conservatively estimate that a majority of criminals, petty or otherwise, have severe addiction, emotional and personality disorders. Some are easier to treat than others. Alcoholism and drug addiction are treatable, but require a costly investment and the concerted effort of the patient. The damage from fetal alcohol syndrome, though, isn't so easy to repair. In some cases, we have to accept that a certain proportion of people are bad apples. Whatever solutions we do work out, however, have to acknowledge that what makes a person a criminal often happened long before the first crime. Fixing those faults aren't easy. We also know by now that just throwing people in jail for a long time doesn't fix them at all. - - Victoria News
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