Drug and Specialist Courts Review: Final Report

Abstract

This report is the product of a review commissioned by the Queensland Government to develop options for the reinstatement of a drug court in Queensland and the development of an overarching framework for Queensland’s specialist courts and court programs. The report aimed to develop a comprehensive criminal justice model that identifies a range of interventions from the time of first contact with police, to arrest, summons and bail, conviction and sentence through to release on parole. It recognised that while drug courts are an important part of the criminal justice continuum, they are only one of a number of responses to the extensive problem of substance abuse-related crime. The report identified the demand for alcohol and other drug criminal justice interventions in Queensland, the drug treatment services provided in that state and proposed a number of foundational principles that should underpin the range of criminal justice interventions. It examined the conceptual foundations that that underpin an assessment and treatment framework, the assessment and treatment of individuals with alcohol and other drug issues in Queensland, the range of dispositional options available for offenders with drug and alcohol issues, discussed whether drug courts work, and for whom, provides an overview of best practice standards for drug court and proposes a new drug court model for Queensland.