Rehabilitated drug users find jobs
CLERK of Court for the Kingston and St Andrew Drug Court, Melrose Reid says 85 per cent of drug users who graduate from the Drug Court Programme are given jobs at the end of their six to 12-month rehabilitation.
It was not immediately clear how many people are captured in this 85 per cent figure at any given time and in what areas they are employed.
But according to Reid, there has been an increase in the number of persons who are referred to the Drug Court. However, she pointed out that this did not necessarily mean that more crimes are being committed, but rather that drug users who are committing crimes might be more aware of the Drug Court.
That aside, Mylie McCallum who manages the Drug Court pointed out that half of the people who were referred to Drug Court between March 2001 to November 2002 for treatment and rehabilitation, dropped out of the programme.
However, she said this rate is better than the internationally accepted drop-out rate of 70 per cent.
Reid, for her part, noted that there is a marked difference in the appearance and mental capacity of drug users who complete the programme.
“When you look at them, you can see that they are disintegrated in their bodies, mind and thinking process… when they go through the programme and graduate, you can see a marked distinction in their speech pattern and how they look.”
Most of the crimes that are committed by drug users are theft, larceny and robbery with aggravation. According to Reid, they engage in these activities to facilitate their drug habits, which includes the use of crack, cocaine, marijuana and alcohol.
Under Ssection 6 of the Drug Court Act “where a person is arrested and charged with a relevant offence and the arresting officer has reasonable cause to believe that the person is dependent on any drug, the arresting officer shall include in the police report, a note of the facts giving rise to that belief”.
If the offender concedes to using drugs and indicates an interest in receiving assistance, the person is then referred to the Drug Court. On referral to the Drug Court, probation officers, who are assigned to the court, assess drug users who commit crimes and recommend treatments based on how long the person has been using the drug, the type of drug being used and family background.
McCallum, who is also the national co-ordinator for the Mental Health Programme, cited the lack of family support as the main reason for clients abandoning the programme.
She noted that most of the clients, particularly those with supportive families, were treated as outpatients. The treatment entails assessment of the client, screening by a psychiatrist and urine testing. Mentally stable drug users are referred to counsellors in the Drug Court programme for continued treatment, which includes individual counselling, group service sessions and family meetings.
However, McCallum said that clients, who are mentally ill and are drug users, are treated as inpatients at the Bellevue and Cornwall Regional Hospitals.
In 2001, two Drug Court centres were established to treat and rehabilitate drug offenders from the corporate area and the western end of the island under a pilot project of the ministry of national security and justice.
The Ministry of Justice, meanwhile, said it plans to establish a third Drug Treatment Centre in St Catherine.
The Drug Court, which operates weekly at the Half-Way-Tree and Montego Bay courts, handles cases involving drug-abusing offenders through continuous supervised treatment and rehabilitation. The medical aspect of the programme is being co-ordinated by the Ministry of Health.
In addition to rehabilitating offenders, the Drug Court also has the added responsibility of dealing with persons who use the Drug Court as an escape from court charges and those who abscond. Reid said, however, that in these instances, the persons involved are ordered to go back to court to face trial and be given regular punishment that is required by law.
The Drug Court is presided over by a resident magistrate and two justices of the peace.