Government should soon be pursuing a Drug Treatment Court (DTC) as an option to help non-violent offenders who have been charged with simple drug possession.
Attorney General and Minister of Home Affairs Adriel Brathwaite disclosed that a specialized community court which would assist in the reduction of drug abuse, addiction and related criminal activity is being considered as a possible option for this island.
Brathwaite said his ministry, in collaboration with the National Council on Substance Abuse, will hold a DTC sensitization workshop tomorrow and Wednesday at Hilton Barbados to further explore how the setting up of a DTC model would benefit this country.
This workshop follows a recent participation in the Drug Treatment Court Study Visit Exchange Programme and the Canadian Association Of Drug Treatment Court Professionals’ Fourth International Conference On Problem Solving Courts And Innovative Approaches To Justice, in Toronto, Canada, which was attended by the Attorney General and other Government officials.
About the DTC model, he said: “The methodology employed utilizes the option of court-supervised treatment alternatives to incarceration which incorporate drug treatment instead of jail sentences for non-violent offenders.”
(BGIS)
