Pubdate: Fri, 21 Jun 2002
Source: Ledger-Enquirer (GA)
Copyright: 2002 Ledger-Enquirer
Contact:  http://www.l-e-o.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/237
Author: Michael Owen, for the editorial board

AS A SOCIETY, WE'VE TRIED THE "LOCK 'EM UP" APPROACH AND ALL WE'VE GOTTEN 
FOR OUR TROUBLE IS A RECORD NUMBER OF PEOPLE LOCKED UP

Granted, locked up is exactly where most of those people need to be, but is 
it where they need to have been?

Lawmakers, sociologists and editorial page pinheads often talk about taking 
a front-end approach to criminal justice -- prevention instead of 
detention. But too often it's just talk. That's not for a lack of desire, 
but because preventing crime is a tougher job than catching criminals. It 
also doesn't have the political appeal that "getting tough" has, especially 
on the hustings.

Columbus' relatively new Drug Court, profiled so well Wednesday by staff 
writer Jim Houston, is a promising approach to intervening with juvenile 
delinquents before they graduate to more serious drug abuse and more 
serious crime.

Judge Warner Kennon presides over the Drug Court, which hears cases of 
young men and women who have landed there at least in part because of drug 
problems.

To qualify for this court, as opposed to Juvenile Court, a defendant must 
have at least one parent accompany him or her and all must agree to follow 
through on the court's rulings, punishments and requirements.

The young defendants must agree to frequent drug tests and other 
probationary supervision. The court will help the defendants, as must the 
parents, but the defendants must prove to the court that they are leaving 
drugs behind and moving forward with their education and/or a job (which 
the court will help to arrange).

The court has seen a good deal of success. Of the 62 cases that have come 
before the court, only two have been complete failures.

"We look at this as a second-chance program," said Moe Cooper, a case 
coordinator and former Columbus Wardogs arena football player. "We give 
them avenues to go down, instead of doing drugs -- a positive path in life."

Clichés -- like an ounce of prevention being worth a pound of cure -- get 
to be clichés because they are true. Whether you're talking about medicine, 
car maintenance, criminal justice or most anything in between, prevention 
is cheaper than (and in most other ways also preferable to) later treatment.

Here's hoping the Drug Court is as successful as it seems it can be. If 
it's half that successful, it'll be one of the most effective things we 
have going.

- -- Michael Owen, for the editorial board
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MAP posted-by: Larry Stevens