Pubdate: Mon, 12 Jun 2006
Source: Whitehorse Star (CN YK)
Copyright: 2006 Whitehorse Star
Contact:  http://www.whitehorsestar.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1493
Author: Julia Skikavich
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Test)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment)

TERRITORY TO CREATE COMMUNITY COURT

The Yukon will soon be offering a community court option to offenders 
who suffer from addictions, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder and other 
mental health problems.

"The Yukon community court will establish a process that will allow 
the offender the opportunity to make a concerted effort to break the 
cycle of drug use and criminal recidivism by providing therapeutic 
opportunities for offenders," Justice Minister John Edzerza told a 
press conference this morning.

The $300,000 court program is expected to be functioning in 
Whitehorse by the fall.

It will be offered as an option to individuals who have committed a 
summary conviction offence, such as a break and enter, vandalism, and 
drug- and alcohol-related crimes, said Dennis Cooley, the deputy 
minister with the Justice department.

The exact criteria that must be met for an individual to be streamed 
into the community court system have yet to be determined, but will 
be decided on over the summer by a steering committee.

"The purpose of the court is to target services to those offenders 
who need it most, when they need them most," said Edzerza.

He added he believes it will address some of the most significant 
factors relating to crime in the Yukon.

The minister described the program as a multidisciplinary court 
similar in its modeling to the Yukon's Domestic Violence Treatment 
Option (DVTO) court, which provides abusers and their families with 
support and treatment options.

Though offenders entering the community court will be screened before 
being provided with the option, it will have to be the individual who 
makes the final choice to go that route, said Cooley.

"The key is focusing on the individual - the right individuals - who 
have a willingness to enter into court, take responsibility for their 
actions and then follow through with the program."

If there isn't an sort of buy-in from offenders, it won't be an 
effective option in helping change their lifestyle, said Edzerza.

Offenders opting to go through the community court will be assigned a 
strict treatment plan that will include substance abuse treatment, 
random drug testing, incentives and sanctions, clinical case 
management and social service support.

The multifaceted approach will likely touch on substance abuse, 
housing, education, family, abuse, child care, residential schools 
and spirituality, said Edzerza.

While going through the program the individual will be required to 
appear before the court on a regular basis to ensure the treatment 
plan is being followed and will then be sentenced at the end of the 
process based on their success in the program.

The court will likely be more effective than giving an offender a 
conditional sentence with treatment requirements built into it, said 
Sandra Bryce, manager of the Department of Justice's Victim Services 
and Family Violence Prevention Unit.

"It's giving people an invitation. You get a different kind of 
feeling when you're invited to do something rather than told to do 
it," she said.

In essence, Bryce added, the program will be inviting individuals to 
take responsibility for the situation while receiving support, 
encouragement and incentives along the way.

It will also move away from the tendency to "compartmentalize" people 
and have them enrolled in a number of programs without any 
established communication, she said.

"We've found it's very helpful to have everyone who is involved in 
their life around the table. That way, you're working in a 
collaborated more co-operative, co-ordinated way and you're able to 
streamline those services," said Bryce.

The community court will be conducted in partnership with the 
judiciary, Crown and defence lawyers, the police, the Department of 
Justice and Health and Social Services, various community groups and 
first nation governments.

"We're very pleased that there will be an opportunity for flexibility 
and modifications specific to each individual's capabilities," said 
Judy Pakozdy, executive director of the Fetal Alcohol Syndrome 
Society of the Yukon (FASSY).

Pakozdy said she sees the court being beneficial to individuals who 
have trouble comprehending the justice system and how sentencing works.

"In the current system, with the current language and process, they 
are not competent but it's not being recognized," she said.

The program will modify the way an offender is able to communicate 
with the court and how lawyers communicate with their clients, she 
said. It is those changes that could make the community court very 
useful, she added.

"People who aren't able to comprehend the current justice system, for 
whatever reason - for disability or mental health issue or just plain 
literacy issue, are not receiving true justice the way things go now."

The programming is not anything new in North America, said Cooley. It 
is basically a combined approach of aboriginal circle sentencing, 
therapeutic courts and drug courts, he said.

Similar programs exist in Toronto and Vancouver.

"What the court does is brings all the programs and services together 
in a concerted way. It allows you to target programs and services to 
offenders when they need them most," he said.
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MAP posted-by: Beth Wehrman