Justice, Mercy and Hope For the past decade, the Alcohol and Other Drug Treatment Court (AODTC)—Te Whare Whakapiki Wairua (The House That Uplifts The Spirit)—has been successfully interrupting the cycle of repeat offending through its intensive rehabilitation programme. The Salvation Army has been a key treatment provider in the programme and also an important partner in the initial formation of the court and its ongoing evaluation and development. Currently there are three adult drug courts in Aotearoa: Auckland City, West Auckland and Hamilton. And the results are in: statistics show that intentionally treating addiction and addressing underlying trauma is the circuit breaker for criminal offending. Not only are individual lives being transformed, but also those of whānau (family) and the wider community. WORDS Jules Badger
udge Lisa Tremewan has been practising law in Aotearoa since 1986 and was appointed to the bench in 2005. After nearly two decades as a judge, Lisa reflects saying, ‘I have always had an interest in using the mechanisms we have in the community, and in my particular case that means the law, to effect justice. And I am convinced that must include social justice.’
‘Blessed with a burden’ In 2009, Lisa and three other judges attended the National Association of Drug Court Professionals (NADCP) conference in the USA where drug treatment courts have been around since 1989. Lisa explains that these courts are ‘well established, well regarded and extremely well researched’. With more than 4000 of these courts in the US, including Texas, some correctional facilities have closed in recent years in favour of investing more in therapeutic jurisprudence (law reform that works to positively impact the psychological wellbeing of offenders) because it works. 8
November 2023
The conference was life-changing for Lisa. ‘It was a profound experience that changed me personally and professionally. I felt “blessed with a burden”, as it was obvious there were far more effective ways to deal with these issues within the system, and how far behind we were in New Zealand. I felt a sense of responsibility to try to do something about that.’ So, Lisa and her colleague, Judge Ema Aitken, then worked with experts in the field and officials to establish the new court. Lisa explains that for many offenders prison becomes a ‘revolving door’ and more of a second home than any great deterrent. ‘Taking a punitive approach to offending that has been driven by unaddressed addiction is ineffective because you cannot punish the addiction away. Unless something meaningful is done to provide a circuit break that addresses underlying issues, nothing changes.’ Salvation Army Addiction Services National Operations Manager Mike Douglas shares Lisa’s burden. ‘No one wakes up one day and says I’m going to become an addict! It’s never a choice. It’s a way of
