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In early 2003 the Fitzroy Legal Service (FLS) released a report titled Drugs, the Law and the Sentencing of Offenders: A Community Discussion of Future Directions, [3] which contains the outcomes of research conducted in August and September 2000 to gain a street level insight into drugs and the law in Victoria. The report consists of two parts: the first, 'A community discussion about drugs and the law', presents the results of a series of focus groups that discussed the effect and effectiveness of the laws relating to drugs (primarily heroin), the policing of those laws and the way the courts deal with drug offenders. The second, 'A peer discussion about sentencing drug offenders', examines the sentencing of drug offenders in Victoria from the viewpoint of interviews with professional service providers. The report does not purport to be a comprehensive analysis of issues related to drug use. It does, however, provide an insight into the views of many in our community and a springboard for further research, and highlights key issues that can help guide current public policy decision making and so shape the future direction of drug sentencing laws in this State. For Part 1, seven focus groups were convened with participants drawn from the local community, including: people who used drugs; traders or their representatives; community workers from local agencies; and residents from public housing. The use of small focus groups enabled the full range of issues to be explored while allowing all participants ample opportunity for meaningful contribution. The sessions were led by a facilitator who introduced topics with a short outline of the issues, then opened up the session for discussion. Part 2 of the report was compiled from extensive personal interviews with eleven professionals who were in contact with drug-addicted clients on a daily basis. These professionals included specialist criminal defence lawyers (both in community legal centres and in the private profession), a medical practitioner, drug and alcohol workers, youth workers and other community workers. These professionals were asked a broad range of questions about the purposes behind sentencing, their views of the Sentencing Act 1991 (Vic), the effectiveness of sentencing options as of late 2000, recommended alternatives and other related issues such as the availability of legal aid funding. [3] by the author. Part of my role as the on-site evaluator is to regular interview clients to gauge client satisfaction (or otherwise) with the service. While the one-stop-shop concept of Access Health has been outlined, it should be noted that the neighbouring Crisis Services also has a range of |
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