2009 Gold Apple Winner
Organization/Facility: Motivation, Power & Achievement Society (MPA)/Public Prosecution Service of Canada (PPSC)
Project/Initiative: Drug Treatment Court of Vancouver
Team/Project Leader: David MacIntyre – Executive Director, MPA
Location: Vancouver
David MacIntyre has worked in the fields of mental health, corrections and addiction treatment. He has worked as a therapist, doing both individual and group counseling, and has also focused on policy and program development.One of David’s most notable achievements to date has been the creations of the Drug Treatment Court of Vancouver. Started in 2001, the DCTV aims to reduce heroin and cocaine use in adults charged with offences motivated by drug addiction. The program’s success has paved the way for seven other drug treatment courts to open across Canada.
As in all Canadian courtrooms, the presiding judge is in charge. However, at the DCTV, the judge makes decisions in consultation with a team of experts that includes the Crown and defense counsel, case manager, and treatment and service providers. Participants must plead guilty to their charges and work with a professional team to design an effective treatment and rehabilitation plan. With guilt already established the focus can shift entirely to preventing the person who committed the offence from doing further harm to society or themselves. The program provides the opportunity for people caught up in addiction and the justice system to accept personal responsibility and receive much-needed support to recover from their addictions.
To establish the DCTV, David designed, planned and implemented a detailed process of research and stakeholder consultation with police, the Crown, members of the judiciary, political leaders, local business and community service providers. He secured funding and spoke to international experts to explore alternatives to the traditional court system.
Results show that completion of the program is the best predictor of reduced drug use and convictions, and the most cost-effective means of processing drug-related offenses. Though 88 percent of participants tested positive for heroin, cocaine or other drugs within the first six months of entering the program, only 30 percent tested positive within six months of program completion.
Today, David is Executive Director of the MPA Society, a non-profit organization founded by people experiencing mental illness and their supporters.
