It's not often you hear encouraging stories from the provincial court house in North Battleford.
Too often, judges there wind up getting to know many accused individuals all too well because of the multiple times they return to face various charges.
But there is one courtroom where judges say they aren't seeing the same offenders returning over and over again. That is Domestic Violence Treatment Options Court, designed to address the issues of domestic abuse.
It began regular sittings in North Battleford Provincial Court in April 2003. Friday, there was a special ceremony in courtroom number three to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of that program and its accomplishments.
On hand were judges, lawyers and others from various agencies involved with the program.
Also there was the provincial minister of justice Gordon Wyant.
"It's important to celebrate these kinds of milestones because of how important the court is to the community and the communities in which it serves," said Wyant.
There remains a need to do something about domestic violence situations in Saskatchewan, the justice minister said. "Regrettably we have a very, very high incidence of domestic violence in this province compared to the rest of the country," said Wyant.
The idea behind the DVTO court is to stop domestic violence behaviour and reduce recidivism from offenders. "When they go through a therapeutic program and deal with their issues, that serves the community very well," said Wyant.
The results are positive. Wyant and others cited high success rates in Saskatchewan and across Canada, and the program has expanded to elsewhere in the province. Similar domestic violence courts have been established in Saskatoon in 2005 and Regina in 2008.
According to the news release from the provincial court. the Battlefords DVTO court was the first such court in Saskatchewan dedicated to "using the principles of restorative justice to address domestic violence."
It was described as taking a collaborative and problem-solving approach that works with partners in the justice, health and community sectors, focusing on treatment for those who have accepted responsibility and pled guilty to charges of domestic violence. The aim is to get to the root causes of the behaviour.
Offenders are provided early treatment opportunities through agencies such as the Battlefords Mental Health Centre at the Prairie North Health Region, as well as Kanaweyimik Child and Family Services Inc.
The court also provides services to the victims and their families through the Battlefords Victims Services Program located at the local RCMP detachment. Victims Services keeps victims informed through the entire process from start to finish, and also assist with referrals to counselling services as well as crisis intervention.
It's different from the old ways of doing things where offenders would be charged and go to court under the traditional process.
Accused individuals still have an option of pleading not guilty and setting a trial date. Here, though, those pleading guilty could have the DVTO option available to them if they meet the suitability requirements. Those who do not meet that criteria would be sentenced the regular way.
According to statistics provided by the Provincial Court, about 150 individuals are estimated to have been referred to Battlefords Domestic Violence Treatment Options Court in 2011-12, and more than 135 victims received services and support. Some 39 offenders completed programming in the domestic violence early treatment option while another 30 were still attending programs at year's end.
Many of those attending the celebration were involved in setting up the program in 2003. One of them was retired judge Violet Meekma.
Meekma had been a family lawyer in Prince Albert and dealt with many domestic violence cases in her practice there, and dealt with many of those cases in court when she sat as a Provincial Court judge in North Battleford.
Based on those experiences, Meekma noted retribution was not what many of the victims of such violence were seeking. They didn't want to see the perpetrators end up in jail, she said, they wanted to see some program or help the family to make the situation better.
Meekma explained to reporters that one reason the victims didn't want to see their partners go to jail was because they wanted them to earn a living and support their families.
"Even if they're not continuing on in their relationship it's not to their benefit to have the offender end up in jail and not pay child support," said Meekma.
She recalled that it was at a law conference in Saskatoon where a judge from the Yukon had talked about a domestic violence program they started there, which sparked the idea.
Others from various other agencies got involved locally.
When officials at mental health finally signed on to the idea, they were able to move ahead and launch the program.
Meekma said initial meetings were held in December 2002 and their first court sitting was April 2003, which she called "pretty fast."
The results of the program have been recognized with a Premier's Award for Excellence in the Public Service in 2010. The award was shown prominently during the anniversary celebrations, alongside a big anniversary celebration cake.
For her part, Meekma calls being involved with the DVTO court "the most exciting, probably, and rewarding experience in my whole career in law."
She credited the success of the program to all those involved in it, including those victims and the offenders seeking the help to make things better.
"It takes the co-operation of a lot of different organizations in the community and they have to make a lot of continuing effort to keep it going," said Meekma.
Meekma says she does not have to look very far to see the difference the DVTO court has made. Since retiring from the bench, Meekma has filled in as a relief judge in several Saskatchewan communities where a DVTO court is still not available as an option.
"The same things happen," said Meekma, where "the offenders plead not guilty, often victims don't want to testify because they don't want to be involved in the court system, they don't want the offenders to go to jail. Nobody gets convicted, therefore nobody gets programming and the cycle of violence continues."
Many of those relationships resume after the court process is over, Meekma noted, so "unless the offender gets treatment, nothing changes."
One key to the positive results DVTO court has had, according to the judge, is that programming happens before sentencing takes place.
"The likelihood of them completing is not as good unless it's done before they're sentenced. If they complete their treatment before sentencing then there's incentive to complete" said Judge Meekma. "So that's really the basis of why it's successful."
As for possibly expanding DVTO courts to other centres in the province beyond the Battlefords, Regina and Saskatoon, Wyant says that is "certainly something we want to talk about as a ministry."
"We look at how successful the therapeutic courts are in the province, look for the need and look for resources. It's something we talk to the federal government about on a regular basis with respect to helping to fund therapeutic courts and we'll continue to have that dialogue."
During the anniversary ceremonies, testimonials were read from victims who say they were helped by the DVTO program. One noted that assistance from the DVTO court program allowed victims to "handle the situation better" and helped her know what was out there for support for herself and her children.
Another noted the positive changes she had seen in the offender, and called the program "awesome," saying the offender "has the choice to smarten up."
One offender who had been through the DVTO court was quoted in a news release as saying he "felt like I had really accomplished something when I finished the group and it was good to go into the court with the judge again and hear them say what a good job I had done. It made it clear to me and to others that I had tried to change and that maybe I really had changed."
Judge Meekma admitted to reporters she hasn't really stayed in touch with those offenders completing the DVTO option, mainly because they tend not to return to her courtroom.
"We don't meet them because they don't come back!" said Meekma. "That's a good thing."
That is something other North Battleford judges are able to point to. During the ceremonies, Judge Dan O'Hanlon noted the program helps the individuals with the issues that bring them to court, so they are less likely to come back.
"Sitting in domestic violence court two times per month is the most satisfying court that I sit in," said O'Hanlon.
"We have success, and that's not always the case in many of the courts that I sit in on a day to day basis."
