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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-07-06 Daily Xml
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Police Drug Diversion Initiative

272 The Hon. R.A. SIMMS ().3 May 2023).

1. How many people have been diverted from the criminal justice system under the Police Drug Diversion Initiative (PDDI) in the last reporting year?

2. How many people were diverted from the criminal justice system under the PDDI in each of the past five years?

3. How many people were not diverted from the criminal justice system under the PDDI in the last reporting year?

4. Over the last reporting year, what controlled substances were people found with categorised by people diverted from the criminal system and people not diverted from the criminal system?

5. How many people diverted from the criminal justice system ended up proceeding to trial?

6. Have there been any policy changes in the last five years that have resulted in a change to the diversion rate?

7. Will the government commit to publicly releasing the above information on a regular basis?

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector): I have been advised:

1. In 2021-22, the South Australia Police recorded 1,837 drug diversions. This information is derived from SAPOL Annual Report data published on Data.SA. The number of people diverted is unknown, although one person is limited to two diversions in a four-year period.

2. There were 21,600 diversions in the past five financial years. The number of people diverted is unknown.

3. This is unknown as there are set requirements for a drug diversion to take place (including the limit of two diversions in a four-year period), this is therefore not possible to quantify.

The Minister for Police, Emergency Services and Correctional Services has advised:

4. The controlled substances found on people who were diverted to the Police Drug Diversion Initiative were Alprazolam, Amphetamines, Buprenorphine, Gamma-hydroxybutyrate (GHB), Heroin, Ketamine, Lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD), MDMA (including ecstasy), Methamphetamine, Oxycodone, Psilocybin (magic mushroom), 1,4 butane diol, and Phenethylamines n.e.c.

5. SAPOL holdings do not record specifics regarding noncompliance returns to the prosecutorial process. However, SAPOL advises it would be rare to have a matter returned for prosecution through noncompliance.

6. The Police Drug Diversion Initiative (PDDI) originally commenced in September 2001. The PDDI aligns with the nationally agreed approach to illicit drug use in Australia involving an early intervention process for drug users to help reduce the prevalence and harms associated with drug use. The main aims of the PDDI are to provide people with early incentives to address their drug use, increase education, assessment and treatment opportunities and to reduce the number of people appearing before the courts for simple possession offences.

The Statutes Amendment (Drug Offences) Bill 2018 amended section 34 of the Controlled Substances Act 1984 resulting with the effect that from 1 April 2019 the number of occasions people could access the PDDI is limited to no more than two simple possession offences in the preceding four years.

7. Statistics on the number of drug diversions in a given year are available in SAPOL's annual report.

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