Pubdate: Tue, 23 Apr 2002 Source: New York Times (NY) Copyright: 2002 The New York Times Company Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298 Section: National Briefing Author: Barbara Whitaker Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) CALIFORNIA: FEWER DRUG OFFENDERS GO TO JAIL An initiative that calls for treatment rather than jail for nonviolent drug offenders is being credited by corrections officials as a major factor behind a drop in female inmates. According to the state Department of Corrections, the number of women in the penal system dropped 10 percent in the last year, to less than 10,000. Most nonviolent drug offenders are being sent into treatment as a result of Proposition 36, which passed in 2000. Some legal experts said it was too early to determine the effects of the law, attributing the decreasing population to years of falling crime rates. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom