An addiction service provider is calling the city's drug problem "more of a pandemic" than the current one the country is facing. Photo / File
An addiction service provider is calling the city's drug problem "more of a pandemic" than the current one the country is facing. Photo / File
Lengthy waiting lists for rehabilitation care are placing Bay of Plenty addicts on "offending treadmills", local lawyers say.
The problem stems from the region's ever-growing drug problem, which an addiction service provider is calling "more of a pandemic" than Covid-19.
Lawyers say criminals with addiction issues are reoffending while sittingon waiting lists for help with their addictions, with one saying it was "one of the biggest problems our justice system faces".
However, the chief district court judge says judges do their best to find available alternatives when residential treatment facilities are unavailable.
Defence lawyer Rebekah Webby, who works across the Tauranga, Rotorua and Waihī District Courts, said it was "virtually impossible" to get clients into rehabilitation care.
The problem had also become significantly worse due to a backlog of cases caused by the Covid-19 lockdowns.
Webby said she was trying to get seven clients into rehabilitation at the moment. More than 90 per cent of all her clients suffered from addiction problems, she said.
If her clients could get treatment, they were eligible for more substantial sentence discounts but many were facing harsher sentences because they were unable to be placed. Some ended up reoffending while waiting for treatment.
Minister of Justice Hon Andrew Little. Photo / File
"We have a massive methamphetamine issue in the Bay of Plenty but don't have the facilities to deal with it."
Defence lawyer Tim Braithwaite said clients were "crying out" for help in dealing with addiction.
"In my view, this lack of available treatment is one of the biggest problems our justice system faces."
He said residential rehabilitation was highly sought after and also the best way to deal with addictions to get people off "offending treadmills".
"Finding placements for these clients is extremely difficult, with most facilities constantly full and with waiting lists."
He said the problem had been around for years.
Ranginui Lucas, intakes co-ordinator at Te Whare Oranga Ngakau, a kaupapa Māori alcohol and drug residential centre, said there was a long waitlist for people seeking treatment.
"Drug addiction is more of a pandemic in our city than the one we are facing, it takes whoever it picks up."
People could either be referred or bailed to the service with most ideally staying for their full 12-week programme.
"It's all about planting the seed in these people. We have some real miracles walk out of the door."
Former member of the Manaaki Ora Trust board and retired Rotorua GP Dr John Armstrong. Photo / File
Chief Judge Heemi Taumaunu said where the availability of beds in residential treatment facilities was an issue at bail or sentencing, district court judges did their best to find alternatives, and "make decisions on the basis of information presented to them".
Justice Minister Andrew Little said there was "significant unmet demand for addiction treatment, in particular for those in the criminal justice system", but the Government had delivered an expansion of therapeutic courts, including an expansion of alcohol and other drug treatment (AODT) .
He said that within two years AODT court participants were 23 per cent less likely to reoffend for any offence and 25 per cent less likely to be imprisoned for their reoffending.
A Department of Corrections spokesman said people on community-based sentences or orders could be referred to community alcohol or drug aid providers, or community residential treatment programmes.
In the Bay of Plenty, Corrections funded residential placements in Rotorua with Manaaki Ora Trust, he said.
People in prison were three times more likely than the general population to have been diagnosed with a mental health disorder in the past 12 months and 91 per cent will have experienced either a substance use disorder or a mental health disorder over their lifetime.
"A total of $128.3 million over four years has been invested through Budget 2019 for mental health and alcohol and drug services for prisoners and people on community-based sentences," the spokesman said.
A Lakes District Health Board spokeswoman said residents had access to Te Whare Oranga Ngākau, a regional residential alcohol and other addictions service operated by Manaaki Ora.
Regional district health boards paid for the beds used, but she said they were not aware of a big waitlist as people just needed to fulfil the criteria and supply the required documentation to gain access.
Visions of a Helping Hand Trust founder Tiny Deane. Photo / File
Dr John Armstrong, a former member of the Manaaki Ora Trust board and retired Rotorua GP, said the city had been grappling with addiction problems for a long time and it was getting progressively worse.
He had seen first-hand the difference rehabilitation services could make to his patients battling addiction but the beds could not keep up, he said.
Visions of a Helping Hands trust founder Tiny Deane said he liked to think his hotel community on Fenton St was a bit like a rehabilitation site for many suffering.
He said he had seen a major drop in clients using drugs or alcohol while living there.
They had "zero tolerance" for any substances on the premises or people coming back under the influence, Deane said.
"I've had some here since March who have gotten absolutely clean and cleaned their act up."
A spokeswoman from Odyssey, a national addiction rehabilitation service in Auckland and Whangārei, said between three and five Bay of Plenty people were referred to its care each month.
The Health Minister was approached for comment.
Local MPs have their say:
Tamati Coffey - MP for Waiariki (Labour)i: "I support any Māori or Waiariki-led solution, tackling the damage this silent wrecking ball is doing to our whānau.
"We made record investment into taking mental health and addictions seriously, from boosting services in Rotorua and inside Corrections, to delivering new facilities in Tauranga – with more to do."
MP for Waiariki Tamati Coffey. Photo / File
Fletcher Tabuteau - Rotorua-based New Zealand First deputy leader: "NZ First has always said that we need to focus on two fronts, rehabilitation, to help those people with the curse of addiction, for the users our focus needs to be about support. Rotorua needs greater capacity and Tauranga needs a facility."
Rotorua-based deputy leader of New Zealand First Fletcher Tabuteau. Photo / File
Todd McClay - Rotorua MP (National): "National has a proud record of reducing offending. It is our view that criminals should be held accountable for the harm they cause, while also being rehabilitated into contributing members of our society.
"Our policies include reinstating our Social Investment Approach across the justice system, expanding the use of drug and alcohol courts, to help offenders deal with their addiction issues, and introducing the Clean Start policy to help newly released prisoners move to a new community.
"We have also outlined an integrated and comprehensive plan to tackle the issues caused by methamphetamine use in our communities."
