JAIL NO DETERRENT TO HEROIN USE

I have recently finished a stint as a Legal Aid solicitor in Fairfield.
Until a month ago, all people charged with offences in Cabramatta appeared
at Fairfield Court. (They now go to Liverpool.)

Cabramatta is a vibrant, culturally rich suburb. And then there's the flip
side - the drug scene. Controlling drug-related crime, or eradicating it,
is one of the more complex problems facing our community. The approach used
now is simply not working and no amount of money spent on policing will
change that.

Of course, the real challenge is to educate the average bloke who's more
interested in a punt at the TAB. At the moment, he thinks that all drug
users are scum and should be sent to jail. He probably hasn't heard about
the revolving jail door and doesn't know that deterrence is a fiction where
heroin users are concerned. He may not know about alternatives to the
existing system, approaches that may mean fewer house break-ins and car
thefts, resulting in lower insurance premiums and an extra dollar on horse
four in the fourth. Parliaments will not implement changes until our punter
believes that change is necessary.

Ian Rodgers
Bondi Beach
March 7