The ABC has reported that, as part of its response to the Special Commission of Inquiry into the Drug Ice, NSW police will have the discretion to issue drug users with a fine (a maximum of two times) rather than placing them under arrest.

While welcoming the change and praising the government for its brave step, Matt Noffs, CEO of the Ted Noffs Foundation, called for leadership by the highest level of the police force to ensure the new systems works.

He stated his view that the NSW Police Commissioner must say to her officers on the front line, ‘We don’t want to be arresting people. We want to be moving towards fines.’

He added that, ‘We know that this sort of pre-court diversion actually leads to less reoffending. So it works. It works on so many levels. It’s less costly.’

Mr Noffs also called for a system to be in place to ensure that the new process is being upheld. ’I really believe that the best way to ensure there isn’t any sort of discrepancy with that (police) discretion is to actually monitor those police over the next say, three or four years’ he said.