It has long been recognised that it is generally better to divert habitual drug users away from the formal justice system and towards treatment in order to break the cycle of drug use and offending to support the habit.
The Magistrates Early Referral into Treatment Program (MERIT) is a sentencing alternative for people who are habitual users of drugs.
It aims to break the cycle of offending by providing counselling and support systems that can help users to overcome their addictions.
Who is eligible?
Participation in the program is voluntary, and you can be referred by police, a magistrate a lawyer, friends, family, or yourself.
You are eligible to participate in the program if you:
- Are over 18 years of age
- Have a provable drug problem
- Are eligible for bail
- Have not been charged with a serious indictable offence that is dealt with in the District Court, as the MERIT program is a program run during the Local Court proceedings
- Have not been charged with a violent or sexual offence
- Have been charged with a drug related offence, and
- Have the Magistrates approval for participation in the program
The Magistrate will decide whether or not to refer a person to the program.
He or she may consider a range of factors including the potential for rehabilitation as well as underlying factors such as family relationships, mental health.
However, in practice, the contents of the original MERIT assessment report will play a substantial role in deciding whether a defendant is referred.
How does it work?
The MERIT program takes place before your case is finalised in court and you do not have to enter a plea in order to enter the program.
The first step is to see a MERIT officer who will assess you for eligibility.
The officer will normally fax a letter to the court advising whether you are eligible and suitable.
If the initial assessment is positive, the Magistrate will normally refer you into the program and your case will be adjourned for a period of around 3 weeks for a formal assessment.
If you are formally assessed as suitable, there will be a further adjournment for a progress report to ensure that you are complying with the program.
Provided that you are complying, the court date will be adjourned a further time for a final report.
The entire program lasts around 12 weeks and is run by trained health care professionals.
It focuses on rehabilitation and monitoring, and normally involves regular counselling and education sessions, and random urinalysis.
If the addiction is serious, participants may be required to enter residential (live-in) rehabilitation, but treatment is normally undertaken on an outpatient basis, in other words while living at home.
What are the benefits of participation in the MERIT program?
The Magistrate will receive a comprehensive report at the end of the program that details the nature and extent of participation.
The extent to which the Magistrate relies on the report is in his or her discretion, but successful completion of the program can only work in your favour.
This may mean a more lenient sentence if you are pleading guilty, as well as being a positive step on the road to recovery.
Successful completion demonstrates willingness and motivation to overcome a drug habit as well as capacity for rehabilitation, are factors that Magistrates must consider when imposing a penalty, according to the Crimes (Sentencing Procedure) Act.
It may even succeed in helping you to avoid a conviction altogether by persuading the Magistrate to grant you a ‘section 10 dismissal or conditional release order’ – which means that you are guilty but don’t get a criminal record.
What happens if I fail to complete the program?
If you don’t complete the program, the Magistrate may take this into consideration when handing down your sentence.
Failure to complete the program is not an offence, and the Magistrate is not meant to impose a stricter penalty merely because you did not finish.
However, it can be a bad look because the Magistrate may feel that you are not sufficiently motivated to address your drug problem and are therefore likely to reoffend in the future.
It is also possible for you to withdraw, or decline to enter in the first place and this is not supposed to prejudice your case.
If you decide to withdraw from the program, your case will progress through the courts as if you had never started it in the first place.
MERIT was introduced in the year 2000, and the results appear to be positive with a high percentage of participants completing the program and reoffending rates for those who participate being lower than for offenders generally.
The MERIT program is available at over 60 NSW courts, both in metropolitan regional areas.
For the full list of local courts where the MERIT program is available, click here.
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