Pubdate: Fri, 17 Feb 2006 Source: Peace Arch News (CN BC) Copyright: 2006 Peace Arch News Contact: http://www.peacearchnews.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1333 Author: Brennan Clarke Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) COMMUNITY DRUG COURTS WAY OF THE FUTURE: OPPAL VICTORIA - The solution to rampant property crime, armed robberies and street-level drug dealing lies in a community-based system of justice, not in stiffer jail sentences for repeat offenders, B.C. Attorney General Wally Oppal says. Speaking at a recent Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce lunch, Oppal said drug-related crime is a social problem that has to be addressed by the community, not just the legal system. "We can't let the judges be out there all alone solving these problems," he said. "We have to get involved as a community. This is not a job the courts can do alone. "We need to start treating the root causes of crime so we don't have the revolving door syndrome we're now suffering from." Oppal, a long-time judge who moved from the B.C. Court of Appeal to provincial politics last year, said his ministry is developing a community court system modelled on similar programs in more than two dozen locales in the U.S. and Canada. By combining Criminal Code penalties with mandatory addiction counselling, mental health treatment or other rehabilitation tools, cities such as Reno, Nevada and Portland, Ore. achieved dramatic reductions in car theft and property crime. "We could send them to jail, but they're just going to come out worse," Oppal said. "If the person is suitable for treatment, we need to put that person through the system immediately." In other community court systems, offenders who refuse to undergo community-supervised rehabilitation face the full force of the justice system, he added later. "It's not a soft approach. If people are not amenable to that type of situation, they would feel the full force of the law." Oppal believes stiffer sentences for violent crime aren't effective because criminals operate on the assumption they'll never have to pay the penalty. "The person who commits violent crime is not a rocket scientist," he said. A community court system would require involvement from the Ministry of Health, provincial health authorities, the B.C. Corrections branch and law enforcement, he said. It will be at least six months before he can attach a timeframe to the initiative. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom