Backgrounder

DRUG TREATMENT COURT OF VANCOUVER PROGRAM

Crime Prevention Investment Fund

The Crime Prevention Investment Fund is administered by the National Crime Prevention Centre (NCPC), which was launched in June 1998 as part of the Government of Canada's National Strategy on Community Safety and Crime Prevention. The Investment Fund supports the development and evaluation of innovative crime-prevention projects with Canada-wide significance, and encourages the sharing of information on quality crime prevention initiatives across Canada. It also supports the rigorous external evaluation of the costs, benefits and overall effectiveness of these comprehensive efforts to prevent crime.

The NCPC has agreed to provide $1,772,440 to the Ministry of the Attorney General of British Columbia for the Drug Treatment Court of Vancouver (DTCV) demonstration project over a four-year period, from December 2001 to November 2005. The role of Justice Canada will be similar to that regarding the Toronto Drug Treatment Court pilot project - funding its evaluation, sharing with the recipient the cost of the non-medical treatment, and providing for a prosecutor.

The DTCV has wide support, including the City of Vancouver, the Mayor, Chief Judge Baird Ellan, the Vancouver Police Department, the RCMP, and community agencies. It is consistent with the four-pillar approach of the Vancouver Agreement, a tripartite agreement of the federal and provincial governments and the City of Vancouver, and is an excellent example of different levels of governments working in cooperation toward a common goal.

Crime and Drug Addiction

By 1998, there were an estimated 11,700 injection drug users in Greater Vancouver, with a large percentage living on the streets or in temporary housing in a few square blocks in the Downtown Eastside. Several secondary communicable disease epidemics relate to the primary epidemic of injection drug use within the community. Hepatitis A, Hepatitis B, Hepatitis C, HIV, syphilis and tuberculosis are among the 'burden of illness' within this drug using population. The province has experienced an epidemic of drug overdose deaths in recent years, with a preliminary total of 404 overdose deaths in the province for 1998, 194 of which were in the City of Vancouver.

The Drug Treatment Court Program

The Drug Treatment Court of Vancouver will address the needs of non-violent offenders who appear before the Court charged with criminal offences motivated by substance dependence. Eligible persons will be offered an intensive and co-ordinated combination of judicial supervision, multi-phased treatment for their dependence, and a range of other community support services. It will provide a treatment option for those caught up in the criminal justice system, and ultimately reduce the burden and long-term cost of processing high numbers of drug-related cases and repeat offenders. It could also benefit those individuals who would not normally seek out treatment for their drug dependence. It is, however, just one part of a comprehensive spectrum of services and supports that must be in place to address the situation in Vancouver.

Drug Treatment Court candidates (non-violent offenders charged under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act with possession, trafficking and possession for the purpose of trafficking of either cocaine or heroin) will be screened and assessed by the treatment provider to determine whether substance dependence exists. Participants have seven days from the date of the participant's initial acceptance to opt out of the commitment. If this occurs, the accused will be referred back to the regular judicial system.

A comprehensive team of therapists and case managers will provide treatment service for DTCV participants as well as referrals to other services. Members of the DTCV team, which will consist of the judge, prosecutor, defence counsel, case managers and treatment providers, will monitor each participant's progress carefully. If the participant leaves or is expelled from the program after the opt-out period, he or she will be sentenced and will not normally be allowed to re-enter the program for one year. Termination from the program will be at the discretion of the judge, in consultation with the DTCV team, and will likely be the result of a strong pattern of non-participation or re-offending.

Effective case management is recognized as a critical element in the success of the Drug Treatment Court program. Case management plans will be individualized, comprehensive, realistic and flexible in building and pursuing their objectives. As part of the treatment and case management process, participants will undergo periodic and random urine drug testing. The results will be made known to the DTCV team and will be used to monitor the progress of the participants in the program. Relapse is not unexpected, and participants will not be expelled from treatment unless there is a pattern of lack of participation in, and compliance with, the program and/or repeated urinalysis results indicating continued drug use.

Evaluation

The demonstration project is envisioned for a four-year timeframe in order to support meaningful evaluation of the program, and to allow for comparisons with the Toronto Drug Treatment Court pilot project. A rigorous process and outcome evaluation will document the role of the Drug Treatment Court of Vancouver program in judicially supervising the treatment and referral of program participants. It will also document the role of community agencies, services and groups in providing program participants access to community-based social, health, educational and occupational opportunities. As well, it will assess the effectiveness, cost effectiveness and efficiency of the program through a comparison of costs and effectiveness measures.

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Department of Justice
December 2001