JAILS FAIL DRUG USERS

VICTORIA'S Chief Magistrate has broken his silence on the heroin debate,
saying jail is often the worst option when sentencing people for
drug-related crime. Michael Adams, QC, said easy access to heroin in jails
and the range of sentencing options now available meant that, on the whole,
he did not favor jailing non-violent heroin offenders.

"Making them confront their demons is much more difficult for them than just
going to jail," Mr Adams told the Herald Sun in a rare interview.

"After all, there's plenty of heroin in our jail system."

His comments come as his deputy, Magistrate Jelena Popovic, said
magistrates' courts were awash with drug-related crime.

Ms Popovic estimated drug dependency, particularly heroin abuse, was a
factor in up to 90 per cent of cases.

"The reality is that magistrates' courts are drugs courts," she said.

"The criminal division of our court is a drug court by the sheer percentage
of the workload being drug-related.

"I wouldn't use the word clogging but we are having to manage the workload
by using lateral thinking," she said.

But chief public defender at Victoria Legal Aid and former chief magistrate,
Nick Papas, said the heroin crisis had created "major headaches" for Legal
Aid, which was already cash-strapped.

"We have a finite amount of money and the simple fact is we can't look after
everybody," he said. "We are trying to manage a lot more cases and it is
very difficult."

Mr Adams said the increase in heroin-related crime meant courts had taken on
a greater welfare role and were "using their powers to work for the
community".

Court officials now work closely with police and Human Services in referring
users to rehabilitation, psychiatric and housing help.

"I would argue that the court has always looked after these people," Mr
Adams said. "(But) we must be responsive to the community and, in that
sense, we have become a service provider rather than a dispenser of
punishment.

"Court is still about dispensing justice but isn't it a just outcome for the
offender, and for the community, if they are diverted away from the criminal
justice system?"

Mr Adams pointed to the success of the Court Referral and Drug Intervention
and Treatment program, which gives offenders the chance to undergo treatment
between arrest and their hearing.

Ms Popovic, who was instrumental in setting up the program 18 months ago,
said participants had a lower record of re-offending on bail and often asked
to continue treatment.