TREATMENT PLUS BAIL FOR DRUG OFFENDERS

Offenders may be ordered to undergo drug or alcohol rehabilitation as
part of their bail conditions, under drug laws that came into effect
in NSW on Friday.

Gazettal of the Drug Summit Legislative Response Act also means
sniffer dogs will be allowed into children's detention centres and
police powers have been boosted to shut down "shooting galleries".

Police options will be expanded in dealing with children caught
possessing small drug quantities and the way is now clear for a
medically supervised injecting room at Kings Cross.

The Special Minister of State, Mr Della Bosca, said yesterday the
compulsory treatment prerequisite for bail would apply only to
offenders who would have been granted it anyway.

"We want people with drug and alcohol problems to get into treatment
sooner, rather than waiting for trial and sentencing," Mr Della Bosca
said.

Drug treatment funding over the next four years had increased by $93
million to cope with an anticipated extra workload of 23,450 clients,
he said.

Meanwhile, the Federal Opposition today will introduce private
member's legislation that would allow assets to be confiscated if on
the "balance of probabilities" they had been acquired as the result of
serious criminal activity.

At present confiscation of assets cannot be made without a conviction.
The new regime would be under civil law and would mean that criminals
could lose the fruits of their crimes even though there might never be
sufficient evidence for a successful prosecution.

The Opposition justice spokesman, Mr Duncan Kerr, will introduce a
package of measures that will also make it easier for the National
Crime Authority to obtain information, but at the same time put an
independent check on the NCA. There would be harsher penalties on
those who refused to give information to the NCA. People would have to
give evidence even if it incriminated them, although it could not be
used subsequently against them.