Media Statement - Principal Youth Court Judge: Christchurch Youth Drug Court report

29 March 2006

The Principal Youth Court Judge Andrew Becroft responded to the Ministry evaluation of the Christchurch Youth Drug Court, which was released today.

Judge Becroft says he welcomes the recognition given in the report to ‘best practice’ procedures implemented in the Court, which he says have been adopted throughout the Youth Court, as well as the therapeutic method and intent of the Drug Court.

He says it is unfortunate the statistical basis of the report does not allow for firm conclusions about the impact of the pilot.

Judge Becroft says that in his experience and that of other judges there is plenty of anecdotal evidence of success stories in the Court over a period longer than that of the evaluation, which covered only the first year of the Court’s operation.

Inquiries:
Neil Billington, Senior Judicial Communications Adviser
04-914-3465 027-233-7825