HOPEFUL NEW COURT

Canada's first community court is scheduled to open later this month
in Vancouver. If there are adequate facilities and programs for
offenders suffering from drug addiction or mental illness, it offers
a reasonable hope of reducing criminality on the Downtown Eastside.
Unfortunately, the presiding judge of the Downtown Community Court is
already worried that the city has not provided enough resources to
serve the number of offenders he expects. Having embraced the concept
of a community court, it will be a great waste if the government of
British Columbia lets this become another story of insufficient
access to treatment.

Less than two weeks away from the court's opening, the inconsistency,
inadequacy and lack of integration of services for the mentally ill
and drug addicts remains a problem in Vancouver. Last week, Mr.
Justice Thomas Gove told reporters that more resources are needed
now, although he couldn't say whether his court would have trouble
applying its treatment-focused sentencing approach as soon as it
opened. "I'm not saying on Day 2 we're going to be unable to fulfill
our mandate. I don't know that yet," the judge told reporters. "I do
know, though, in the big picture, there is a need for more
resources." The province has ramped up its investment in shelters,
transitional housing, social housing and even a new facility for
mental health patients and treatment centres, but the community court
is opening first.

Vancouver's community court will deal with individuals who plead
guilty to offences such as shoplifting, theft from cars, mischief,
assault and drug possession in the downtown area. As many as half of
those arrested in downtown Vancouver reportedly suffer from mental
illness or drug addiction, or both.

Since the first community court was established in New York City in
1983, dozens of such courts have been established in the United
States, South Africa, England and Australia. Many of these courts,
however, deal only with lesser, "nuisance" offences such as public
urination or graffiti. While the public satisfaction with these
courts may be high, as reparation for these "low-level crimes" is
made directly to the neighbourhoods affected, the best community
courts make the most of community involvement by corralling resources
to address issues underlying criminality such as poverty, diseases
such as addiction and mental illness, and a lack of job or social
skills - going beyond sentencing offenders, to shifting them to
community service projects. These concerns deserve the attention of
the criminal justice system, adequate funding from governments, and
the focus of the country's first community court.