A process evaluation of the CREDIT (court referral and evaluation for drug intervention and treatment) pilot programme

The effects of judicial supervision on recidivism of offenders in Australia and New Zealand: a systematic review and meta-analysis

This meta-analysis compares recidivism reduction in problem-solving courts employing judicial supervision in Australia and New Zealand to traditional processes. Using a four-phased search strategy, 16 studies totalling a treatment sample of 6588 individuals and 32,147 comparison participants were identified from 7161 unique records. Meta-analyses indicate that the problem-solving courts significantly reduced both the odds and incidences of recidivism compared with standard justice processes but that the heterogeneity observed within the latter analysis plus reliance on weak methodologies limits the strength of these conclusions. Studies at risk of bias may have had an undue influence on the odds of recidivism analysis. Additionally, the benefits of treatment on the incidence of recidivism are closely linked to the overlap of measurement and treatment periods. The findings suggest a positive impact from judicial supervision but further rigorous research is needed that closely matches experimental samples, strictly measures participants post-intervention and meticulously reports pertinent information.

The Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment (MERIT) Pilot Program: Court Outcomes and Recidivism

Diversion programs for drug offenders have proliferated in the last decade in the belief that treatment of underlying drug use will decrease an individual's criminal activity. The NSW Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment (MERIT) program diverts adult offenders with significant drug problems, on bail, from the court to a 3-month intensive drug treatment program. This article reports on the criminal justice outcomes of the Lismore MERIT Pilot Program. Findings indicate that participants who completed the program were significantly less likely to reoffend, took longer to reoffend and received less severe sentences than those who did not complete the program. The reduction in reoffending is significantly associated with program completion even when other factors associated with recidivism are controlled for, including previous incarceration. Overall these findings contribute to the growing literature indicating that providing treatment for offenders with illicit drug problems can be an effective crime reduction strategy.

The efficacy of diversion and aftercare strategies for adult drug-involved offenders: a summary and methodological review of the outcome literature

Diversion strategies aim to redirect drug-involved offenders away from the criminal justice system and into treatment. Despite the interest in diversionary practices, the emergence of an empirical evaluation literature has been slow. A methodological review of published outcome studies was conducted to investigate the current strength of evidence for the efficacy of diversion and aftercare practices for criminal offenders. Twenty outcome studies were identified for review: 19 on diversion and one on aftercare. The vast majority of studies were non-randomised evaluations, reflecting the paucity of rigorous evaluation work in this area. Although most studies were prospective, very few reported on long-term outcomes following treatment. Detail was lacking with regard to basic study characteristics, such as eligibility criteria and outcomes. Despite these methodological shortcomings, results provide some tentative evidence that diversion and aftercare programmes could be effective. Best practice elements of diversion and aftercare programmes are identified and feasible strategies to improve the methodological quality of future evaluations are considered.

Evidence-based policy or policy-based evidence? The role of evidence in the development and implementation of the Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative

ISSUES

Evidence-based policy is promoted as the ideal in drug policy, yet public policy theorists suggest that policy-based evidence may be a more fitting analogy, where evidence is used selectively to support a predetermined policy direction. The following paper assesses the resonance of this notion to the development of the Illicit Drug Diversion Initiative (IDDI), an apparently pragmatic reform adopted in Australia in 1999 through the Federal Coalition 'Tough on Drugs' strategy. It utilises interviews with key informants from the Australian drug policy arena conducted in 2005 to assess the role of evidence in the design and implementation of the IDDI.

KEY FINDINGS

The current paper shows that while policy-makers were generally supportive of the IDDI and viewed drug diversion as a more pragmatic response to drug users, they contend that implementation has suffered through a selective and variable emphasis upon evidence. Most notably, the IDDI is not premised upon best-practice objectives of reducing harm from drug use, but instead on 'Tough on Drugs' objectives of reducing drug use and crime.

IMPLICATIONS

This paper contends that policy-based evidence may facilitate the adoption of pragmatic reforms, but reduce the capacity for effective reform. It therefore has both functional and dysfunctional elements. The paper concludes that greater attention is needed to understanding how to mesh political and pragmatic objectives, and hence to maximise the benefits from policy-based evidence.

The Magistrates Early Referral Into Treatment (MERIT) Pilot Program: a descriptive analysis of a court diversion program in rural Australia

There has been a rapid expansion of drugs courts and diversion programs in Western countries, with the aim of diverting drug offenders into treatment. This study presents data from a rural pre-plea court-based diversion into treatment program for adult defendants appearing at a Local (Magistrate's) Court who have significant illicit drug problems. Unusual features include the intended duration of treatment (three months), and the emphasis on specialised caseworkers, who provide case management services, intensive individual counseling and group therapy sessions, and attend court, providing detailed legal reports. In the first two years, 238 participants were recruited to 266 program episodes. The participants were mostly recidivist offenders, with 61% having been previously imprisoned, and 85% having at least one prior conviction. Half the participants completed the program. Characteristics significantly associated with program completion were principal drug of concern (heroin/amphetamines vs. cannabis/other, OR = 0.4 [95% CI: 0.2, 0.7]), Aboriginality (Aboriginal vs. not, OR = 0.4 [95% CI: 0.2, 0.9]) and accommodation (privately owned vs. other, OR = 2.5 [95% CI: 1.3, 4.7]). Participants identified the caseworker support as the most important element of the program. We conclude that the program was successfully implemented, and that adequately supported skilled caseworkers were critical to its success.

Magistrates' Early Referral into Treatment (MERIT): preliminary findings of a 12-month court diversion trial for drug offenders

The purpose of this paper is to present a description and preliminary findings of a 12-month trial of a Local Court diversion programme, called MERIT for Magistrates' Early Referral into Treatment. The aim of MERIT is to divert eligible drug offenders to treatment and rehabilitation services. A total of 172 offenders were assessed and 131 entered the programme. The sources of referral were court (58%), police (17%) and self (10%). Main problem drugs were heroin (57%), cannabis (21%) and amphetamines (11%). The majority (85%) had previous convictions and 50% had been in jail. At the end of the trial period one-third (33%) completed the programme and one-third (33%) remained in treatment. Main treatment interventions were case management and out-patient counselling, detoxification, residential rehabilitation and methadone maintenance. Police records showed that of the original 43 (33%) graduates only six had come to police notice, mainly for relatively minor offences. Early acceptance and preliminary results has led to an expansion of the MERIT programme across New South Wales. With the rapid expansion of drug courts and diversion programmes across Australia, descriptive studies are useful to provide beneficial data to assist policy makers and service providers to develop programmes.

The emergence of drug treatment courts in Australia

The paper begins by placing the emergence of drug treatment courts within the context of rising property crime rates, the development of open-air illicit drug markets, and the rise in opiate overdoses in Australia. The paper then highlights the way in which the U.S. concept of drug treatment courts was adopted and adapted by state politicians in attempts to deal with drug-use-related offenders. This response has been specifically targeted at repeat property offenders "at risk" of imprisonment, and comes within the broad brush of harm minimization strategies for diverting offenders with a drug-use-related problem away from the traditional criminal justice response of imprisonment. The prospects for the future of drug treatment courts in a Federalist system are also discussed.