Politicians spend a lot of time talking about getting to the root causes of drug crimes. But they aren't putting money where their mouths are.

Why is it so hard to help drug-addicted criminals?

Federal and provincial ministers have rejected a modest $250,000 grant application by the Hamilton Coalition to Reduce Substance Abuse Related Crime designed to deal with those causes. The money would allow the implementation of 23 recommendations designed to address drug addiction among criminals.

The most notable recommendation is for an addiction counsellor to work at police headquarters to help people under arrest and go out on drug raids with officers. Moments of crisis -- such as a scrape with the law -- can become the catalyst for real change in a life that has hit rock bottom.

The intervention would look like this: police would provide an office for a full-time counsellor. Officers arrest and bring-in an addict -- perhaps a sex trade worker on crack or a bank robber who needs money for his next fix, or someone caught driving while high. That person can have immediate access to a professional who can listen to their story, offer advice and hook them up with the right resources, whether it's a treatment facility, a self-help program or educational material.

That same counsellor would be at the courthouse on days when drug court is in session, again offering help to those who want it, but also acting as a resource to lawyers, judges and officers involved with drug cases. The counsellor could be teamed up with police officers when they go out on drug raids, much the same way the highly successful COAST program pairs cops with mental health experts to go on calls together.

"The idea here is that we're not just going to give you a piece of paper with a phone number on it," says coalition member Regan Anderson, executive director of Wayside House, a residential treatment centre for men. "We want to strike while the iron's hot during the moment when these drug users have the greatest opportunity to make a decision."

Ultimately, by getting criminals with drug addictions "on a path to recovery" police will reduce the number of drug-related crimes in the city, says Chief Brian Mullan, also a coalition member.

It is a simple but innovative concept. One developed by the community's top experts who came together in 2004 to form the coalition: Hamilton Police Service, Wayside House, the Hamilton Criminal Lawyers' Association, the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Alternatives for Youth. They joined forces and shared ideas and recognized that jailing drug addicts wasn't going to break the cycle of crime or addiction.

So the coalition got a $50,000 federal seed grant from the National Crime Prevention Strategy (NCPS) to study substance abuse related crime in Hamilton, with a focus on crack cocaine. Last April, that study bore fruit in the form of a 200-page report that gave law enforcement, the judicial system and addiction experts a unique snapshot of the relationship between drugs and crime in our city. As well, the report was rife with recommendations, some of which can be implemented virtually cost-free, others for minimal sums.

"We've got the information, we've got the people, we've got the buy-in locally," says Anderson. "But we can't seem to get the funding."

The NCPS turned down the coalition's grant for $250,000 to cover the annual cost of an addiction counsellor, a co-ordinator and a portion of the salaries of police officers who would work with those two newcomers. After that, Chief Mullan appealed directly to federal Justice Minister Vic Toews. Then to Ontario Attorney General Michael Bryant. And Community Safety Minister Monte Kwinter. And Health Minister George Smitherman.

The answer was No, No, No and . . . No.

The rejection letters suggest the problem is that this approach targets drug users who are already involved with the criminal justice system. The politicians would rather pay for initiatives that reach out to addicts BEFORE they become criminals. The difference lies in the interpretation of the word "preventative." Do we work toward preventing someone on the cusp of trouble from going over the edge for the first time or do we find ways to prevent a drug addict with a history of breaking the law from continuing to commit crimes?

Susan Clairmont
24 January 2007

http://www.hamiltonspectator.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=hamilton/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1169592613039&call_pageid=1020420665036&col=1014656511815

home / Previous feature