Justice Secretary praises pioneering special courts

A pilot project for a dedicated drug court was launched at Leeds in December 2005 and after being credited with reducing crime it was extended to four other courts in Barnsley, Cardiff, Salford and Bristol.

Yesterday Mr Straw met those involved at the dedicated

drugs court and a specialist domestic violence court in Leeds.

He said: "Leeds Magistrates' Court is among those to have pioneered the approach of using problem-solving courts to tackle the underlying problems associated with criminal behaviour in order to better protect the public.

"The whole community stands to benefit from the way dedicated drug courts provide continuity and firm supervision for offenders who may come from chaotic backgrounds, in order to break the cycle of reoffending.

"Specialist domestic violence courts bring together a range of specialists to safeguard victims and families and to deal with offenders."

Cases are often listed together in specific court hearings so that all specialist resources are in the same place on the same day. Dedicated drug courts work by ensuring the same magistrates or district judge sits

throughout a case involving one offender, allowing them to keep track of their progress, motivate them to comply with the

order and receive an early warning if there is any relapse and apply sanctions if

necessary.