Pubdate: Fri, 25 Apr 2003
Source: Herald, The (SC)
Copyright: 2003 The Herald
Contact:  http://www.heraldonline.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/369

DRUG COURT OFFERS ALTERNATIVE

The nation's criminal justice system is adept at putting people behind bars 
but less so at turning lawbreakers into productive citizens. York County's 
drug treatment court helps balance the ledger in a modest way, serving as 
an example the rest of the state might want to emulate. A year ago, the 
number of inmates in American prisons topped 2 million for the first time. 
The United States now locks up more of its citizens than any other 
prosperous nation in the world.

The increase in the prison population over the past three decades has been 
astonishing. In 1980, the number of prisoners stood at 474,000, less than a 
fourth of the current number of people behind bars. And the increase has 
been fueled in large part by tough penalties meted out to drug abusers and 
traffickers, many of them low-level, first-time offenders. But while the 
quadrupling of the prison population may have reduced serious crimes -- in 
part, simply because so many people are incarcerated -- it also has placed 
a huge financial burden on state economies while, at the same time, 
reducing the money and manpower available for rehabilitation.

The county's drug treatment court offers an alternative. Initiated in 
October 2001 by Tommy Pope's 16th Circuit Solicitor's Office, the court 
gives a select group of nonviolent drug offenders an alternative to jail. 
And on Thursday, four men and one woman became the first graduates of the 
court's drug treatment and rehabilitation program.

About 55 people are in various stages of the program, and so far more than 
80 percent of those who have entered the program have stuck with it. That 
is an impressive figure; this program is no easy ticket out of jail.

The process begins with a defendant being referred by someone within the 
justice system, usually a defense lawyer or public defender. The defendant 
then must plead guilty to a charge, but the sentence is deferred when the 
defendant enters a drug treatment program administered by Keystone 
Substance Abuse Services. If the client then fails to complete the program, 
the plea is reinstated and he or she is back in the regular court system.

But the focus Thursday was on the five people who endured 18 months of 
random drug testing, intensive counseling, drug treatment and weekly court 
appearances to monitor progress. While recovery can be a lifelong process, 
these five now have a much better chance of turning their lives around than 
they did a year and a half ago.

With a $500 million deficit, the state can barely afford its corrections 
system. The cost of a drug-rehabilitation program is a fraction of what it 
costs to feed, clothe and house a prison-er. And treatment is far more 
likely to deter recidivism than hard time.

A number of other states already have established or are considering 
drug-treatment diversion programs, most of them similar to York County's. 
Currently, only a few drug treatment courts have been instituted in South 
Carolina, all funded by federal money with state matching funds.

We think the state should investigate expanding the drug court system 
statewide, using existing courts as models. If it works in York County, 
there is no reason it cannot yield similar results across the state.

For now, however, we congratulate all those involved in the local program, 
including Ann Melton, diversion programs director for the solicitor's 
office, Derek Chiarenza, drug court judge, Jamie Ferguson, treatment 
director at Keystone, and all those who help make this program a success.

Above all, however, we congratulate those who successfully completed the 
program. We wish them well in their recovery.
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