Drugs.

As part of the volunteer work I'm doing with Prisoner's Family and Friend Service, I had the opportunity to meet one of the only judges in England who's running a "drug court". The phrase makes it sound slightly more sordid than it is really. In short it's simply a diversionary court that deals solely with low-level criminal offenses that are motivated by drug addiction. Today I spent the day observing this court in action. The takeaway is that the Brits are far better at treating their "criminals" like human beings than Americans are. Judge Phillips made an effort to ensure that everyone who appeared before him received a hug before they were released back into the community. Most were also given a lecture on the impurities of street drugs nowadays, so why waste your time and money? I'm not sure how successful this approach is at keeping addicts on the straight and narrow. And the idea of any NJ judge hugging any of my former clients is truly laughable.


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Location:West London magistrates court