Pubdate: Tue, 10 Jul 2001 Source: The Herald-Sun (NC) Copyright: 2001 The Herald-Sun Contact: http://www.herald-sun.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1428 Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) NONVIOLENT DRUG SUSPECTS: PROMISING IDEA Durham's court system has a commendable history of trying different alternatives to jail time. Unfortunately, reality also has a way of derailing good intentions. For example, because of high costs and broken equipment, Durham can no longer use electronic house arrest for some suspects awaiting trial. And Durham's domestic-violence court, an effort to expedite these cases and steer offenders into treatment, fell victim to this year's state budget crunch. On the other hand, after a shaky start, drug court, which steers low-level drug offenders into treatment as an alternative to jail time, now looks as if it might fulfill some of its considerable potential. A similar effort now in the works also could steer more of Durham's low-level offenders into treatment sooner. Court officials want to offer treatment evaluations to nonviolent drug offenders after they are arrested, rather than waiting until after a conviction, as is current practice. Suspects who agree to an evaluation would receive bail bonds low enough to allow them to get out of jail. The details of this plan are not yet in stone, and court officials and attorneys have raised some concerns. The agency that would conduct the treatment evaluations - Treatment Alternatives to Street Crime - is already operating at capacity and has a waiting list. The Mental Health Adult Substance Abuse Program, which would treat these offenders, also is stretched thin. Attorneys have raised questions about due process - whether this program would amount to coercion of defendants, and whether any disclosures made during an evaluation could be used against them. To his credit, District Attorney Jim Hardin Jr. has pledged that information obtained during a pretrial evaluation will not be used in court. All of this questioning during the proposal stage is a good sign: It may produce a more effective program that avoids the ill fate of similar alternative-to-jail efforts. Hardin estimates that 80 percent of crimes have a drug-abuse component. A well-run program that can help people escape this cycle of self-destruction is worthy of all the support it can get. - --- MAP posted-by: Josh Sutcliffe