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Hosting a community forum on alternatives to arrest for addiction

Across Australia and many other jurisdictions, addiction is increasingly understood as a health condition rather than a criminal matter. Frontline responses, however, often still default to arrest, court appearances and short-term detention. People who use drugs, particularly those from First Nations, migrant and low-income backgrounds, carry the heaviest burden of a system that research consistently shows produces poor health and social outcomes.

In the Australian Capital Territory, personal possession of small quantities of certain illicit drugs was decriminalised through amendments that took effect in late 2023, replacing criminal charges with a health-focused pathway. In Melbourne, the North Richmond medically supervised injecting room has been operating as a health-led response since 2018, and the NSW Drug Court in Sydney has been diverting suitable defendants into treatment for over two decades. At the same time, racial disparities in who is arrested, charged and remanded continue to undermine trust in the justice system. An examination of bail schedule racial bias shows how apparently neutral administrative choices can compound inequity.

A community forum offers residents, families, clinicians and policy makers a way to talk honestly about alternatives to arrest and to plan local action. The rest of this article walks through the practical steps of putting one together, drawing on lessons from Australian models and from broader international experience with pre-arrest diversion and health-led crisis response.

Building a steering committee that reflects the community

The first task is to assemble a diverse steering committee of six to ten people. A common mistake is to rely only on service providers and academics, whose voices are valuable but cannot stand in for those directly affected. Invite people who have been through the arrest and treatment system, family members who have supported a loved one through court, and peer workers from local alcohol and other drug organisations.

In Australia, this is the moment to reach out to Aboriginal Community Controlled Health Organisations, whose cultural authority and longstanding experience of harm reduction should shape the forum from the start. Include a youth worker from a neighbourhood centre in a suburb like Footscray, Cabramatta or Redfern, where intergenerational contact with the criminal justice system is common. A local general practitioner who prescribes opioid agonist treatment, a community legal centre lawyer and a councillor from the relevant local government area round out a workable group.

Aim for genuine decision-making power, not symbolic representation. Pay people with lived experience for their time at a rate comparable to other consultants, and be clear about expectations before meetings begin. A steering committee that meets every two or three weeks for three months is usually enough to plan and deliver a forum.

Mapping local services and decision-makers

A useful early exercise is a one-page map of the local landscape. List the treatment providers, peer-led groups, mental health services, sobering centres and any drug court or court diversion program operating in your region. Note which police stations fall within the catchment, and which local government area is responsible for community safety, public health and venue hire.

In New South Wales, Local Health Districts coordinate Alcohol and Other Drug services across hospital and community settings, while in Victoria catchment-based intake teams handle referrals. Queensland runs a Court Innovation Program that includes the Drug and Court Division in Brisbane, and South Australia has been piloting a Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion-style model informed by international practice. Knowing which of these apply to your audience lets you invite the right speakers and design a forum that does not duplicate existing services.

Decision-makers matter just as much. Identify the relevant state member of parliament, the federal member for the local electorate, the mayor, and the senior police officer responsible for the local area command or police district. Constructive engagement with law enforcement partners can open doors to programs such as pre-arrest deflection, where officers redirect people found with small quantities of drugs to a health assessment rather than a station.

Choosing a format that encourages real dialogue

A panel of three experts reading prepared remarks rarely makes the best use of a forum. People who have been through arrest and treatment are often the most powerful speakers, but they need a format that lets them tell their story in their own words. A short lived-experience opening, followed by a practitioner and a policy maker, then facilitated small-group discussion, tends to work well.

Practical considerations carry weight. Choose a venue that feels welcoming: a community hall, neighbourhood house or library meeting room is usually better than a council chamber. Provide childcare, food that accommodates dietary requirements, Auslan interpreters and translated materials where relevant. In regional areas like Townsville, Bunbury or the Hunter, think carefully about travel costs and timing so that distance does not exclude participants.

Decide whether the forum will be public, invitation-only or hybrid. Public meetings broaden reach and signal transparency, but they can also be dominated by hostile voices if the topic is politicised. A facilitated model with clear ground rules and trained facilitators keeps the conversation focused on solutions.

Reaching people who are often excluded

Stigma, fear of police, and prior negative experiences with services mean the people most affected by arrest for addiction are least likely to walk into a public event. Outreach has to be deliberate and built on trust. Ask peer workers, faith leaders, sporting clubs and cultural organisations to spread the word through their own channels rather than relying only on social media.

Confidentiality is essential. Reassure attendees that nothing shared at the forum will be passed to police or child protection, and choose a venue that does not look or feel like an official building. Where possible, hold separate, smaller yarning circles for Aboriginal participants, facilitated by Aboriginal facilitators, alongside the main forum. This reflects the principle of self-determination and avoids placing cultural load on individuals to educate non-Indigenous attendees.

Consider running a short pre-forum survey through trusted services, asking what issues matter most. People may want to discuss access to opioid agonist treatment, the cost of rehabilitation, family court involvement, or the impact of a criminal record on employment. Centring these priorities in the agenda shows that the forum is genuinely shaped by community input.

Turning conversation into ongoing action

A forum is only as valuable as what happens afterwards. Within a week, publish a clear summary of what was said, what was agreed, and who has responsibility for each next step. Include contact details for the services that were discussed and a way for people to stay involved.

If families have asked about navigating police contact, point them toward resources that complement the forum. A practical guide on hosting a know your rights workshop can extend the conversation into households that could not attend. Form a small working group to meet monthly with a clear focus, such as advocating for a local pre-arrest diversion trial or for expanded access to drug treatment beds.

Practical steps for forum organisers

The strongest local forums leave behind more than a transcript. They leave behind relationships between a parent who has lost a child to overdose, a constable who wants a different tool for her next call-out, and a clinician who has been waiting for community backing to propose a new service. That kind of relationship is what turns a one-off event into the slow, patient work of replacing arrest with care.