The Guardian: More than 90% of people caught with small amounts of illicit drugs criminalised in NSW despite diversion reforms

Police used discretion to divert just 6.9% of people caught with personal use quantities of drugs from criminal justice system, data shows…. reports the Guardian

A New South Wales government program that gives police discretion to divert people found with small quantities of illicit drugs away from the courts has only been extended to 6.9% of people caught, including just 2.6% of those who are Indigenous.

The major reform by the Minns government came into effect in February this year and was flagged by the attorney general, Michael Daley, as a way to treat drug use as a health issue rather than a criminal one. Yet data obtained from NSW police under freedom of information shows the vast majority of those caught with illegal drugs continue to be criminalised.

Ahead of the state government’s two-day drug summit starting on Wednesday, advocates are calling for the government to decriminalise personal use quantities of illicit drugs. Failing that, they argue the decision to divert those caught with the substances away from courts should not be left up to police.

The diversion program, known as the Early Drug Diversion Initiative, gives police the option to allow someone caught with small amounts of illegal drugs to pay an on-the-spot $400 fine or speak to a health professional over the phone instead of going to court.

The data showed 1,749 Indigenous people who were eligible for diversion were instead charged. Meanwhile, the data – which covers the eight months after the laws came into effect in February – showed only 46 Indigenous people received diversions.

It also showed Indigenous people were 4.5 times more likely to be charged by police with a small-scale use and possession offence than non-Indigenous people, according to analysis of the data by Unharm, which obtained the data from police.

However, diversion also remained low among non-Indigenous people, with just 7.8% – or 617 people – diverted while 7,269 had been criminally charged.

The data also showed that people caught with MDMA or cocaine were most likely to receive a diversion, with 29% and almost 23% respectively caught and not charged.