Crime & Addiction - The Drug Treatment Court's Response

The University of Nicosia School of Law with the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki Faculty of Law invite you to attend and participate in the upcoming conference with the title “Crime and Addiction: The Drug Treatment Court’s Response”. The conference will be addressed by the Honourable Minister of Justice and Public Order of the Republic of Cyprus, Mrs Stephie Drakos.

Forty years of “The War on Drugs” has demonstrated that this application of criminal justice has failed. When a drug addicted person is charged with a criminal offence, criminality may be related directly or indirectly to addiction. Yet, traditional sentencing in many common law and continental jurisdictions focuses mainly on criminality while addiction is given some mitigating role. Sentencing drug addiction and related crimes via incarceration promotes recidivism and the revolving door phenomenon. Crime and addiction have a complicated relationship. Addiction is self-harmful and when accompanied by crime might be harmful to others. The taxpayers’ cost from repetitive incarceration of addicted people who are involved in non-violent crime is high. For this population, Drug Treatment Courts are the epitome of Criminal Justice goals. Their successful implementation reduces both crime and addiction.

This conference will provide a unique opportunity for all the participants to understand the philosophy of Drug Treatment Courts (DTCs) through the experience of professionals in the field. The establishment of a pilot court will allow the State to examine strengths and weaknesses for the implementation of treatment courts in our Cypriot and Greek society.

The participants will have the opportunity to address questions to the speakers and share with them their concerns. Not all societies are ready to change but change might be inevitable when a traditional approach leads to a dead end.