Auckland is set to get a new court to deal with problematic minor offenders like drug addicts, the homeless and the mentally ill.
The Special Circumstances Court is modelled on an overseas court of the same name and will see people sentenced to treatment programmes instead of prison time.
John McCarthy from social advocacy group Lifewise helped to bring the concept to New Zealand.
He told TV ONE's Breakfast programme the types of people who are likely to come before the court are those who have long-standing mental illnesses and addiction issues. They currently appear before the court on a "revolving door" type basis.
"Courts aren't equipped by themselves to deal with this type of offending and provide the kind of help that those folk require," he said.
By bringing together social agencies, health professionals and a court, he said the help these people need can be targeted.
He said currently homeless offenders will walk away from court dazed and confused, having been fined. He said with little intervention they may go on to commit the same crime again.
In the Special Circumstances Court the offender will undergo an assessment. A plan will be put in place with input from the judge, lawyers and agencies. They will then come back and report on a monthly basis as to how that plan is going.
"It's a combination of law enforcement and social service provision," McCarthy said. "Research shows you can't do one without the other."
He does not believe this is a soft-touch approach.
"There's accountability back to the court, if they don't achieve that plan then they'll be sentenced in the usual way in the mainstream court."
McCarthy said homeless people have usually given up on themselves, but through providing the right kind of intervention at the right time, the courts could help them turn their lives around.
