CALL MADE FOR MORE DRUG COURTS

REGINA (SNN) -- Saskatchewan's fi rst drug court expected to open this
fall amid renewed calls by Canadian Association of Police Boards for
the federal government to expand the number of drug treatment courts
nationwide.

The Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region is expecting its fi rst intake of
clients -- offenders referred by drug courts for treatment -- at the
end of September or early October, said region spokesperson Mark Torjusen.

"However, that is dependent on the courts," Torjusen said, explaining
Saskatchewan Justice is responsible for setting up the court and
determining which offenders are suitable candidates for the treatment
program.

Sask. Justice will be making an announcement the province's fi rst
drug courts this fall, communications offi cer Andrew Dinsmore said.

The association of police boards earlier this month passed a
resolution calling on Ottawa to increase number of drug treatment
courts and provide more federal health dollars for treatment programs
and additional drug detoxifi cation centre beds.

"We defi nitely need the treatment facilities in place rst before the
drug courts can open their doors," said Jim Stiglitz, Prince Albert's
mayor and chair of board of police commissioners.

The government is aware of the growing drug problem in Canada, he
said, explaining the association wants to ensure the national drug
strategy moves forward so that all police forces are on the same page
when it comes to drug enforcement.

"We would like to see drug courts set up in major cities like
Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Regina where street drugs are so
prevalent," Stiglitz said, adding that Prince Albert has seen a defi
nite increase in the use and traffi cking of crystal meth and cocaine
in the past couple of years.

"Our arrests on hard drugs have risen dramatically so we are working
at that as hard as we can. But we still need to work with the courts
more because we still believe the sentences do not reflect the crimes
in many cases." Stiglitz said with the high number of young people
addicted to crystal meth, more needs to be done to educate young
people about the dangers of illicit drugs and to provide treatment
programs.

The association passed a number of other resolutions aimed at
protecting police offi cers across the country and helping them to do
their job. Among the resolutions was a call for legislation requiring
e-commerce service providers, fi nancial institutions and data
managers to disclose incidents in which personal and fi nancial
information of individuals or businesses is compromised for criminal
or other purposes and a call for the establishment of a mechanism to
support and co-ordinate Canadian efforts at fighting cyber crime.

Police boards are also looking for federal and provincial assistance
in developing police training programs to assist offi cers on the
street in recognizing and dealing with mental health patients, and
more funding to support police departments which are experiencing
increasing caseloads relating to drug and gang activity.