Pubdate: Thu, 24 Aug 2006 Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN) Copyright: 2006 The Leader-Post Ltd. Contact: http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361 Author: Anne Kyle Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) Saskatchewan's First Drug Court Should Open Sometime This Fall Saskatchewan's first drug court is expected to open this fall amid renewed calls by the Canadian Association of Police Boards for the federal government to expand the number of drug treatment courts nationwide. The Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region is expecting its first intake of clients -- offenders referred by the drug courts for treatment -- at the end of September or early October, said region spokesman Mark Torjusen. "However, that is dependent on the courts," Torjusen said, explaining Saskatchewan Justice is responsible for setting up the court and determining which offenders are suitable candidates for the treatment program. Sask. Justice will be making an announcement on the province's first drug courts this fall, communications officer Andrew Dinsmore said. The association of police boards earlier this month passed a resolution calling on Ottawa to increase the number of drug treatment courts and provide more federal health dollars for treatment programs and additional drug detoxification centre beds. "We definitely need the treatment facilities in place first before the drug courts can open their doors," said Jim Stiglitz, Prince Albert's mayor and the chairman of its board of police commissioners. The government is aware of the growing drug problem in Canada, he said, explaining the association wants to ensure the national drug strategy moves forward so that all police forces are on the same page when it comes to drug enforcement. "We would like to see drug courts set up in major cities like Saskatoon, Prince Albert and Regina where street drugs are so prevalent," Stiglitz said, adding that Prince Albert has seen a definite increase in the use and trafficking of crystal meth and cocaine in the past couple of years. "Our arrests on hard drugs have risen dramatically so we are working at that as hard as we can. But we still need to work with the courts more because we still believe the sentences do not reflect the crimes in many cases." Stiglitz said with the high number of young people addicted to crystal meth more needs to be done to educate young people about the dangers of illicit drugs and to provide treatment programs. The association passed a number of other resolutions aimed at protecting police officers across the country and helping them to do their job. Among the resolutions was a call for legislation requiring e-commerce service providers, financial institutions and data managers to disclose incidents in which personal and financial information of individuals or businesses is compromised for criminal or other purposes and a call for the establishment of a mechanism to support and co-ordinate Canadian efforts at fighting cyber crime. Police boards are also looking for federal and provincial assistance in developing police training programs to assist officers on the street in recognizing and dealing with mental health patients, and more funding to support police departments which are experiencing increasing caseloads relating to drug and gang activity. - --- MAP posted-by: Richard Lake