Offenders who commit crimes under the influence of drugs and alcohol could front a proposed new drug court in Sunshine.
A report on the state government’s inquiry into the supply and use of methamphetamine, particularly the drug ‘ice’, was tabled in Parliament last week. It recommends expanding the Drug Court of Victoria to include drug courts in Sunshine, Melbourne, Geelong and Gippsland.
The Victorian Drug Court, which is based in Dandenong, is a division of the Magistrates Court of Victoria. The drug court oversees sentencing and supervision of offenders with a drug or alcohol dependency who have committed an offence under the influence of drugs or alcohol or to support a drug or alcohol habit.
The drug court was established in 2002 to focus on rehabilitating offenders because the traditional criminal justice system did not seem to adequately deter offenders.
If introduced to Sunshine, the drug court would operate out of the existing Sunshine Magistrates Court building.
The inquiry also recommended expanding the jurisdiction of the drug court to allow it to make drug treatment orders for offences that may otherwise result in a maximum sentence of up to five years’ jail.
According to Niddrie MP Ben Carroll, a member of the law reform, drugs and crime prevention committee that ran the inquiry, Sunshine was nominated on the recommendation of Tony Parsons, chief magistrate of the current drug court in Dandenong.
“Sunshine was the highest catchment area for offences recorded, following Melbourne,” Mr Carroll said.
“It makes economic sense in terms of existing resources already in Sunshine that could cater for the whole of Melbourne’s west … also assisting the local population.”
Brimbank police’s Inspector Chris Gilbert likes the recommendation.
“From a policing perspective, if that’s something that would stem the harm that comes from drug use, then we’d certainly be supportive of it,” he said.
Youth worker Les Twentyman, who presented a paper on the need for youth workers in schools as part of the inquiry, approved of a drug court in the area but said more needed to be done to prevent people from taking ice in the first place.
