AUSTRALIA'S FIRST DRUG COURT OPENS TODAY

AUSTRALIA'S first drug court will open in Sydney today.

The court, pioneered in the United States, offers heroin-addicted
criminals the option of undergoing rehabilitation instead of going to
jail.

NSW Premier Bob Carr said addicts' progress would be strictly
monitored and if they returned to drugs, they would be jailed.

"It's an incentive to get off drugs," he said.

"It's an example of the new solutions we're trying."

The $12 million, two-year trial at the west suburban Parramatta court
house will be headed by District Court judge Gay Murrell, assisted by
health and legal specialists.

Drug courts are well established in the US and studies have found up
to 85 per cent of addicts complete the rehabilitation program and
recidivism has been reduced by up to 80 per cent.

Under the NSW trial, only heroin addicts guilty of non-violent crimes
such as minor drug dealing or theft will be eligible to appear before
the drug court.

If addicts plead guilty they get the choice of undergoing a 12-month
rehabilitation program or jail.

If they choose rehabilitation, their sentence is suspended and they
appear before the court weekly, undergoing random drug testing and
having their jail sentence reinstated for breaching conditions.

The scheme will be trialed at Parramatta but could be extended to
other areas of NSW if it proves successful.

About 70 per cent of prisoners in NSW were in jail because of
drug-related crimes and drug courts could significantly reduce the
prison population, the government says.

The opposition has said the trial is doomed because NSW does not have
the rehabilitation services to deal with addicts referred by drug courts.