Grande Prairie will be home to a new drug treatment court by the end of the year, as the province tries to break the cycle of addiction-motivated crime for a number of offenders. The court places more focus on treatment for addiction and recovery and includes frequent drug testing, sanctions, incentives, and social services support.
“Organized crime groups and gangs are supplying drugs that are fuelling this trend, particularly opioids and methamphetamine and fentanyl,” says Minister of Justice and Solicitor General Kaycee Madue, who announced the program in the city Friday.
“These criminals are preying on people addicted to drugs. To feed their addiction, many people resort to crime to steal items they can then sell or swap for drugs. Battling this is a multi-pronged approach.”
Roberto Diaz, a drug treatment court graduate who now works for Alberta Health Services, says the program helped him break out of a cycle of repeated arrests.
“Four years ago yesterday is when I went to detox and at that point in time, I was completely hopeless. I felt so ugly and worthless, fully ashamed, miserable, I had lost connection with my daughter for about five, six months, my family had cut ties with me and I was homeless on the streets wandering, trying to aimlessly survive.”
“The one thing that drug court did for me was held me accountable,” he adds. “You know, the justice system can arrest me countless times, but I never felt the full weight of my actions. And drug court allowed me to take a deep look into my addictions, but also all the other things that I was going through.”
Madu believes expanding the use of drug treatment courts could be key in preventing this kind of crime. Deputy Mayor Wade Pilat notes Grande Prairie has struggled with drug crime for years.
“I think this allows us to have one more tool in the toolbox to try to have a safer commute moving forward, and an opportunity to rehabilitate some folks.”
Back in 2015, Grande Prairie was ranked by Macleans Magazine as the most dangerous city in Canada and was ranked first in the total amount of drug crime among cities in the country, according to Statistics Canada data for the 100 biggest police districts in the country.
The city’s current numbers are more favourable. Its crime severity index ranking, a measure that tracks the average level of serious crime in a city, dropped in 2020 but is still well above the national average at 107.36 compared with 73.4 nationally in 2020. Lethbridge had the highest rating at 138.7.
The court in Grande Prairie will be one of five new drug treatment courts established outside of Edmonton and Calgary. The Alberta government is spending up to $20 million over four years to expand the program.
Written by Bailey Moreton
