Magistrates’ Court of Victoria is advertising seven positions specifically for the Shepparton Drug Court program, while other agencies within the multidisciplinary team are offering several more positions.
The new division of the Magistrates Court, which will open this financial year, follows a successful expansion of the Drug Court in Melbourne in 2017.
The expansion to regional Victoria is to improve community safety and reduce the rate of offending.
Drug Court Supervising Magistrate Suzie Cameron said her work within a solution-focused court, which aims at helping offenders who are trapped in a cycle of drug or alcohol dependency, is hugely rewarding.
“These professional roles in the multidisciplinary team provide an exciting opportunity to be involved in Victoria’s first regional Drug Courts at Shepparton,” Ms Cameron said.
“It’s a chance to make a difference in the Shepparton community by working in a therapeutic environment that not only changes the life of the offender but benefits the wider community.”
The Drug Court provides targeted and structured supervision, treatment and support to offenders to address the underlying issue that has bought them before the court.
Drug Court participants are also closely supervised and tested for drugs or alcohol use, often multiple times a week. Non-compliance or reoffending may lead to the participant returning to jail.
Magistrate Cameron said evaluations of outcomes from existing Drug Courts demonstrates a reduction in severity and frequency of reoffending, thereby increasing community safety and reducing the economic burden of crime across the wider community.
Advertising has already started for the key roles of Drug Court operations manager and an administration co-ordinator.
Soon recruitment will commence for a Drug Court registrar, a project officer and a Koori liaison officer.
There are also two clinical adviser roles to work with participants to address underlying issues and provide expert advice to the court regarding psychosocial history and substance abuse.
Other agencies have several other jobs to support the Shepparton Drug Court including lawyers, security staff, police lawyers, advanced case managers and more.
Victoria’s first Drug Court was established in Dandenong in 2002, followed by Melbourne in 2017, and the solution-focused approach is now being expanded to Shepparton and Ballarat.
An evaluation by respected consultants KPMG found the success of the existing Drug Court included successful participants having a 90 per cent reduction in trafficking offences, a 70 per cent reduction in burglary and deception offences, and a 31 per cent reduction in re-offending in the year after they completed their drug and alcohol treatment order.
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