- Home
- Hansard & Papers
- Legislative Council
- 6 June 2007
Compulsory Drug Treatment Correctional Centre
Printing Tips |
Print selected text
| Full Day Hansard Transcript
« Prior Item |
Item 26 of 46
| Next Item »
Page: 812
The Hon. IAN WEST: My question is directed to the Attorney General, and Minister for Justice. Will the Attorney General advise the House what is the latest information on the Compulsory Drug Treatment Correctional Centre?
The Hon. JOHN HATZISTERGOS: I thank the honourable member for this question on a very important Government initiative. The Compulsory Drug Treatment Correctional Centre, an Australian first, is aimed at breaking the drug-crime cycle. The centre has been operational since August 2006, when it was officially launched by the former Minister for Justice, my colleague the Hon. Tony Kelly. I am pleased to inform the House that I have visited the centre on two occasions since assuming the portfolio responsibility and I am certainly impressed with its operation thus far.
The Compulsory Drug Treatment Correctional Centre is a strict approach that provides a new way of treating repeat drug-dependent offenders. It targets male offenders who have committed multiple offences over a long period to support their addiction and who have failed or never accessed drug treatment. The Drug Court has a role in referring offenders and it monitors their progress. The program has three stages: stage one is closed detention, stage two is semi-open detention and stage three is community custody. There are no contact visits in stage one. Inmates are detained under tight security and supervision and drug tested at least twice a week. They undergo intensive abstinence-based treatment and undertake programs to address their offending behaviour and help them to develop skills to prepare for a crime-free life in society.
In stage two the focus shifts to community reintegration, including better relationships with family members. Inmates reside at the centre at night and are subject to drug testing at least three times a week, but spend time outside the correctional centre in employment, education and approved programs. Stage three involves intensely supervised community custody with electronic monitoring and drug testing, similar to home detention.
The Compulsory Drug Treatment Correctional Centre is part of the Government's longstanding and ongoing commitment to tackle drugs and crime in our community. It is an important initiative because it highlights the fact that a high proportion of offenders who are given a prison sentence or placed on remand have existing alcohol and other drug problems. The Australian Institute of Criminology indicated that in 2005, 42 per cent of detainees in police custody had used drugs prior to their arrest and 67 per cent had obtained illicit drugs in the preceding 30 days. The Department of Corrective Services' biennial drug survey in 2003 found that on reception to prison 78.8 per cent of inmates had used illicit drugs in the six months prior to their current prison term.
The Compulsory Drug Treatment Correctional Centre aims to address offenders' drug addiction and criminal behaviour and provide them with the skills to successfully reintegrate into the community. Through this, the centre program helps offenders to take personal responsibility to lead productive crime-free and drug-free lives. Correctional experts advise that the available research and experience of similar programs internationally indicates that this type of initiative works, especially when the program involves targeted case management, post-release housing, training and entry to the labour market. All of these have been built into our program.
When the former Minister for Justice spoke about the centre in this place last year, the Deputy Leader of the Opposition interjected, asking the question, "Why is this program not in every jail?" I thank the Deputy Leader of the Opposition for his acknowledgement that the New South Wales Government's initiative is an important new direction in breaking the drug-crime cycle. Honourable members will recall that when the Government announced its intention to build this centre in 2003, soon afterwards the Opposition had the idea to do exactly the same thing. Indeed, the Opposition issued a press release duplicating our initiative, which was headed, "Reducing Drug Use in Prison". The Opposition did not want to eliminate drug use because, as the former shadow Justice spokesman stated on 28 October 2003, "You can't have drug-free prisons." I can inform the House that no illicit drugs have entered the centre thus far. The inmates are keeping themselves productively engaged by participating in programs to address their offending behaviour and they are engaging in work and training. [ Time expired.]
Last modified 05/12/2007 16:46:27 : Update this page