Transcript Solving Problems, Making Dilemmas?

October 28. 2009
Doug Keefe Consulting
SOLVING PROBLEMS, MAKING
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DILEMMAS?
Canadian Criminal Justice Association
DATING FOR IDEAS
October 28. 2009
SPEED
Is there a problem worth addressing?
 Do PS courts address the problem?
 Do PS courts create problems/dilemma?
 Are there other, better ways to address the
problem?
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Doug Keefe Consulting
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“Better” i.e. more effective, less expensive, fewer dilemma
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Symptomatic crime
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Criminal behaviour rooted in drugs and mental illness
Justice system is the catchment
Doug Keefe Consulting
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October 28. 2009
THERE ARE PROBLEMS
Complexity
Personal: symbiotic relation between drugs & mental
illness
 Systemic: two or more systems
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Limited coordination of systems and services
 Carrots or sticks, not carrots and sticks
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Ineffective / damaging criminal sanctions
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PS
COURTS
... are judge-led teams of justice, health, and social
service professionals more interested in future
behavior than past behavior
Doug Keefe Consulting
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CRIME:
October 28. 2009
SWIMMING UPSTREAM OF
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October 28. 2009
FOR EVERY PROBLEM A COURT
Drug
 Mental health
 Family drug
 Domestic violence
 Teen
 Community
 Re-entry
 Aboriginal ?
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Doug Keefe Consulting
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3.
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Accused’s rights
Patient’s rights
Medical efficacy
Justice efficacy
Democracy
Doug Keefe Consulting
2.
October 28. 2009
DILEMMA BY NUMBERS
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October 28. 2009
ACCUSED/PATIENT’S RIGHTS & TEAMS
Self incrimination
 Right to counsel
 Medical confidentiality
 Priority of treatment & harm reduction
 Consent and coercion
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Doug Keefe Consulting
Greater judicial discretion & accused vulnerability
 Justice system is built to coerce
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October 28. 2009
MEDICAL EFFICACY
Voluntariness:
is it medically necessary?
 is it a myth?
 Coercion by the state, by the judge, by the team: is it
different?
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Doug Keefe Consulting
Are judges qualified to direct therapy?
 Are judges conflicted when directing therapy?
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October 28. 2009
JUSTICE EFFICACY
PS Courts compatible with blind justice?
 Judge-led teams compatible with justice?
 Allocation of justice resources
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Doug Keefe Consulting
“Boutiquing” of the court system
 Hi-grading time and services?
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Is directing executive functions a threat to judicial
independence?
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NEW GROUND OR PAVING THE DETOUR?
Helping sits uneasily with punishment in any system
 The purpose of justice is social order that is just
 It relies on moral authority and punishment
 Nuisance offences begat a rising crescendo of criminal
sanctions
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Doug Keefe Consulting
If the helping systems don’t or can’t help, the
punishing system takes over by default
 Is justice suited to helping?
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October 28. 2009
BREAKING
Justice has its own problems
Case processing times
 Inefficiencies
 Resistance to business systems analysis
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Should judges direct or allocate government
resources?
October 28. 2009
DEMOCRACY
Doug Keefe Consulting
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OR BEST?
Doug Keefe Consulting
There is a problem
 PS courts are, to varying degrees, an effective
response
 Can the dilemma be navigated?
 Can PS courts be institutionalized?
 Are there other responses?
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October 28. 2009
PS COURTS: GOOD? BETTER?
Not involving courts
 Not supervised by judges
 Not requiring close coordination
 Administratively supervised coordination
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October 28. 2009
Doug Keefe Consulting
luck!
Good
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