DEFENCE FOR CHILDREN INTERNATIONAL - AUSTRALIAN SECTION SUBMISSION TO PUBLIC DRUNKENNESS INQUIRY
The Drugs and Crime Prevention Committee, Parliament of Victoria, May 2001
Introduction
1. Defence for Children International – Australian Section (DCI-A) is the local link in a global chain of children’s rights agencies recognised by the United
Nations which advocate for the rights of children, particularly as established by the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CROC). The Convention applies to those under the age of 18 years.
DCI-A is a nation-wide organisation independent of government. We are an incorporated association that relies on individual memberships, organisational affiliations, subscriptions and donations.[1]
2. On behalf of our organisation, the National Committee of DCI-A appreciates the opportunity to make this submission to this Inquiry.
3. DCI-A asks the Committee to give specific consideration to the particular needs of under 18 year olds. We strongly support the decriminalisation of public
drunkenness in conjunction with the enhanced provision of appropriate health and welfare services for people with substance abuse problems. We submit that such services need to deal with both
the immediate health circumstances of the young person who has come to notice and
to have the capacity to effectively articulate with services that can subsequently address the sources of serious misuse of alcohol and other drugs.
The Convention on the Rights of the Child
4. We have been made aware of the positions adopted by the Criminal Bar Association dated 24 April 2001 to this Inquiry. We generally endorse those positions. With
respect to young people under 18, DCI-A submits that the approach recommended by the Criminal Bar Association is consistent with and supported by the provisions of CROC as set out below.
Article 3(1):
In all actions concerning children, whether undertaken by public or private social welfare institutions, courts of law, administrative authorities or legislative bodies, the best interests of the
child shall be a primary consideration.
Article 37(b):
No child shall be deprived of his or her liberty unlawfully or arbitrarily. The arrest, detention or imprisonment of a child shall be in conformity with the law and shall be used only as a measure of last resort and for the shortest appropriate period of time [emphasis added].
5. It is our submission that a punitive approach to the problem of public drunkenness is inconsistent with the principle enunciated in Article 3(1) of CROC that the best
interests of the child should be a primary consideration. Similarly, it is inconsistent with the provision in Article 37(b) that arrest, detention or imprisonment should only be a measure of
last resort.
A Protective And Educative Rather Than Punitive Approach
6. An approach based on the protection and health enhancement of young people rather than their punishment is consistent with and supportive of the CROC provisions.
It also accords with an appreciation of adolescent experimentation with alcohol and other drugs in a community which promotes substance use, and also with contemporary approaches to substance abuse
based on a harm minimisation model. We understand that harm minimisation is an express policy principle of the current Government and support its application to the issue of public drunkeness.
7. DCI-A acknowledges that alcohol and other drug misuse amongst young people in Victoria is a concern to policy makers and the community alike.However, we believe that in
order to address both the presenting andpotentially underlying problems for such misuse, a broader approach isrequired by Government.
8. To this end, we would further suggest that theCommittee examine how the Victorian Office for Youth can be given anenhanced role, and status within government, to
develop and implement anintra-government strategy to overcome young people's misuse of alcohol andother drugs.
9. Such a strategy would need to appreciate that the serious misuse of alcohol and other drugs can be a response to diverse social impacts (such as unemployment, poverty)
and also to painful personal circumstances (such as a history of family violence or the presence of disabilities) especially but not exclusively, among young people.
Young People Who Are Homeless
10. It is common to find that homeless young people are suffering from the consequences of both social and personal impacts.[2]
We ask the Committee to give their needs particular attention.
11. DCI-A believes that considerable enhancement of the existing youth accommodation and support service system in Victoria is required in orderto meet the needs of homeless young people who are
misusing alcohol andother drugs. In particular, DCI-A is disappointed in therecently released interim report of the Victorian Government'sMinisterial Advisory Committee on Homelessness Task Group
which provides minimalcommentary on the needs of homeless young people - especially those withalcohol and other drug misuse problems.
12. In order to address the particularneeds of this age group we would strongly suggest the Committee that theyhold discussions with the Ministerial Advisory Committee with a view to improving
the number and accessibility of emergency beds to young people who arehomeless due to their misuse of alcohol or other drugs.
Minimising Police Involvement
13. Young people are an obvious target for those sections of the community who seek easy answers to complex social problems, common symptoms of which might be minor public misconduct. The
criminalisation of such behaviour effectively delegates to police the task of removing the symptoms. It does nothing to address the underlying causes, and in many cases only exacerbates the
problem.
14. Within the context of adolescent experimentation with alcohol, the Committee is requested to consider the broader impact on police/young people relations and the issue of public drunkenness.
Police involvementfor the purpose of securing criminal charges, mayprecipitate circumstances where young people are charged in respect oftheiralleged behaviour as a response to police intervention or
lead toallegations of police violence toward the affected young person/people.[3]Fundamentally, "public drunkenness" laws can be
used by policingauthorities as a general public order response against any communityminority causing a perceived concern to the local interests. Theseinterests are not always residential members of
the alleged affectedcommunity.
15. DCI-A is also concerned that it is a short step from the criminalisation of the behaviour to the criminalisation of the young person who exhibits that behaviour. This in turn can result
in harm and stigmatisation. It also results in associated cost to the community (directly through the costs of criminal justice processing and detention, and indirectly for the reasons in the
previous paragraph) which are far in excess of the harm caused by the initial minor misconduct. In this regard we refer to the Ministerial Statement on Juvenile Justice issued by the Minister
for Community Services, which reflects the current government's policy of maximising appropriate diversion strategies.
16. DCI-A supports the increased provision of appropriate services such as sobering-up shelters (which should separate under 18 year olds from adults where practicable) until a responsible adult
that is acceptable to the young person can collect the young person. For the reasons pointed out above, those shelters should be resourced to provide young people with appropriate and accessible
referrals and should be auspiced by health not police services.
No New Offence Is Needed
17. DCI-A supports the abolition of the offence of public drunkenness. We oppose the creation of any new offence against public order or the like and note that there are already in
existence numerous offence categories which we submit are adequate to ensure that behaviour which should attract criminal sanctions does so.
Conclusion
18. DCI-A is convinced that criminal sanctions for young people's public misuse of alcohol per se is neither within the spirit of CROC or an appropriate response to those young people
with serious misuseofalcohol and other drugs problems. We therefore urge the government to adopt policies, develop services and encourage practices that support and assist young people rather than
criminalise them.
Footnotes
[1] For more information about our organisation, see: http://www.dci-au.org/
[2] Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commission (1989) Our Homeless Children, HREOC, Sydney.
[3] See generally: Alder et al (1992) Perceptions of the treatment of juveniles in the legal system, National Clearinghouse
for Youth Studies, University of Tasmania at Hobart; Blagg and Wilkie (1995) Young People and Police Powers, Australian Youth Foundation, Sydney.
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