DRUG COURTS, YES, WITH A TWIST

Drug courts have a sterling two-decade record of achievement in the
U.S., but any proposal to establish one in Calgary must be balanced
with the mandate of the Canadian justice system. That mandate is a
triumvirate of principles: punishment, deterrent and rehabilitation.

A drug court allows judges to sentence addicts to rehab if they have
committed non-violent offences such as burglary or fraud to pay for
their drugs. Models differ among U. S. jurisdictions, but typically
an offender is ordered to attend year-long treatment, find full-time
work and submit to regular drug testing. One positive drug test,
however, and it's off to jail.

Law enforcement officials, including administrators of the U.S.
federal Drug Enforcement Association, have widely praised the drug
courts for their success in getting people back on the straight and
narrow and keeping recidivism rates low. Speaking to the Ohio
Association of Drug Court Professionals in 2002, DEA director Asa
Hutchinson credited the drug courts as being key in reducing cocaine
use by 75 per cent and total drug use by 50 per cent since the 1970s.

What is troubling is that some of the drug court models also offer to
expunge the offender's criminal record upon successful completion of
treatment. Burglary, theft and fraud typically do not involve
violence, but they are still serious and a message needs to be sent
that society will not tolerate them.

Erasing criminal records instead sends the message that society
doesn't mind these offences too much. It absolves the offender of
punitive consequences and prevents future employers from learning of
the criminal background of a candidate for jobs in which such
information is vital, such as day-care centres or security.

Nor does erasing criminal records serve as a deterrent. It is not
hard to imagine drug addicts using the new court as a
get-out-of-jail-free card. Submit to rehab for a year? Sure, why not?
When the year's up, that burglary charge is gone without any
consequences. Drug courts have done a lot of good work in the U.S.
and they can be successful here, too, but without compromising the
principles of punishment and deterrent.