Pubdate: Fri, 27 Sep 2002
Source: Jonesboro Sun, The (AR)
Copyright: 2002, The Jonesboro Sun
Contact:  http://www.jonesborosun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1825
Author: Larry Fugate, managing editor
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/meth.htm (Methamphetamine)

DRUG COURTS NEEDED

Craighead County Sheriff Jack McCann has been an advocate of drug courts 
for a long time. He views the program and rehabilitation rather than prison 
for first-time, non-violent offenders as the answer to a major social and 
law enforcement problem.

Now he wonders if he has been "wasting our time" because he has made little 
progress toward establishing a drug court for the county.

McCann admits that it has simply come down to a matter of money. That's the 
frustrating part. The veteran law enforcement officer views drug courts as 
a sound investment, not decriminalization of the state's drug laws.

State and local criminal justice systems have been inundated with felony 
drug cases for more than a decade. Court dockets are overloaded with drug 
cases and offenders who are using drugs, leaving fewer resources available 
to adjudicate serious, violent crimes.

Police officers like McCann say it has become increasingly clear that 
incarceration in and of itself does little to break the cycle of illegal 
drug use and crime. Offenders sentenced to jail or prison for drug-related 
offenses exhibit a high rate of recidivism once they are released.

Some drug abuse treatment programs have proved effective in reducing both 
drug addiction and drug-related crime.

A number of jurisdictions have changed their approach to handling 
defendants charged with drug and drug-related offenses and have developed 
drug court programs which operate in conjunction with the traditional court 
process. Individuals targeted for the "drug court" are generally 
non-violent offenders whose involvement with the criminal justice system is 
due, primarily, to their addiction.

Defendants eligible for the drug court program are identified as soon as 
possible after arrest. If accepted into the program, they are referred to a 
multi-phase outpatient treatment program entailing multiple weekly -- 
sometimes daily -- sessions for counseling, therapy and education; 
urinalysis (usually at least weekly); frequent hearings before the drug 
court judge and a rehabilitation program entailing vocational, educational, 
family, medical and other support services.

Jackson County Sheriff Jim Bishop agrees with McCann, warning at Tuesday's 
legislative committee meeting here that jail bills may bankrupt some 
smaller Arkansas counties.

Prosecuting Attorney Brent Davis raised the issue of involuntary commitment 
procedures that can get a person who is addicted to drugs into treatment. 
He compared it to the involuntary commitment used to get a mentally ill 
person into a hospital for treatment.

Sheriffs frequently wait months to get a jail inmate into a state hospital 
for a mental evaluation. Many drug treatment programs are filled, just like 
the county jails, to capacity.

Drug courts cost 50 percent or less to operate per individual than the cost 
of keeping the same person behind bars, according to a U.S. Justice 
Department study. The long-term benefits are even better.

McCann, who attended the committee meeting called to address the growing 
methamphetamine problem, believes he is preaching to the choir. Few 
officials in Arkansas are answering the invitational hymn.
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