The ACT Drug and Alcohol Court is “an effective program” to reduce re-offending, help offenders get their lives on track, and save the community money, according to an independent evaluation by the Australian National University which the ACT Government released today.
The Drug and Alcohol Court provides an alternative to imprisonment, offering an effective and evidence-based therapeutic approach to reduce harm for individuals and more effectively protect the community. Instead of a custodial sentence, the Court imposes a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order, and a team of justice and health professionals support participants through the program to graduation.
The ACT Drug and Alcohol Court (DASL) started in December 2019, following the 2016 Parliamentary Agreement between the Greens and Labor parties to establish the court.
Since commencement, 106 people have been referred for a Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order. As of 31 March, the Court has imposed 56 orders on participants with alcohol and drug substance use issues, beginning at an early age, often in the teenage years, but occasionally even younger.
“The Drug and Alcohol Court is an excellent example of building communities instead of prisons and getting better results for everyone,” Attorney-General Shane Rattenbury said.
“The evaluation shows that this Court is having a positive impact on the lives, relationships, and health of participants; reducing reoffending and keeping the community safe; as well as saving money for the community.
“The independent evaluation found that participation in the program has led to positive outcomes in psychological and physical health, quality of life, relationships, employment, emotional maturity, and hope and optimism about the future.”
For example, participants’ ratings of their psychological health increased, from a median of 5/10 at the start of the order, to 9/10 at 12 months. The proportion of participants who were in employment increased from 8 per cent to 63 per cent. Many participants’ relationships with their loved ones, especially their children, improved.
“The evaluation results, while preliminary, also indicate the Court is reducing the reoffending of the participants,” Mr Rattenbury said. “For example, offenders who completed their Drug and Alcohol Treatment Order successfully showed a complete cessation in offending during the follow up period covered by the report.”
No DASL graduates had returned to court since graduation, while for the 22 people still on the program when data was collected reduced the number of charges before and during DASL by 87 per cent.
“In addition to these positive social and justice results, the court is also saving the community money by keeping people out of prison and instead helping to treat their behaviour,” Mr Rattenbury said.
The report estimates $14 million has been saved due to avoided prison time – more than the $13.3 million the ACT Government recently allocated to run the Court over two years.
“This specialist program is rehabilitating offenders whilst holding them accountable for their actions, which ultimately leads to a safer community for all,” Mr Rattenbury said.
“The fact that we are fully utilising the Court program’s capacity shows how successful it has been in its first two years, so it is important that the ACT continues to fund this transformational program.”
The report’s 24 recommendations include increasing awareness of the DASL program, particularly among legal practitioners; revisiting eligibility criteria to ensure the program enrols the appropriate target cohort; reviewing referral pathways into DASL; making referrals to the DASL judge as early as possible; allocating more resources to the program; and more sitting days and more time at court for the DASL co-ordinator.
“This evaluation report will help inform decisions around the next steps for the Court’s future such as size and funding, as the ACT Government prepares a formal response to this extensive evaluation,” Mr Rattenbury said.
