Pubdate: Mon, 26 Jan 2004 Source: Times Daily (Florence, AL) Copyright: 2004 Times Daily Contact: http://www.timesdaily.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1641 Author: Russ Corey Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) COLBERT FINALIZING COMMUNITY-BASED CORRECTIONS PROGRAM TUSCUMBIA - Colbert County is moving closer to beginning its Community Corrections program. Presiding Circuit Judge Hal Hughston received a resolution from the county commission last week supporting the venture. Community Corrections involves a variety of programs for nonviolent criminal offenders. The programs allow offenders to serve their punishment in their own community. The concept is designed to help reduce the population of the state's correctional facilities. Most programs include projects such as work release and suspended work release, drug court, pretrial diversion and electronic monitoring. Colbert County has actually had one facet of the program, drug court, in place for more than a year. Hughston said the community corrections board is setting up the actual corporation and is awaiting operating money from the state Department of Corrections. "We've been spending a good bit of time putting this thing together," Hughston said. Community corrections reduces the cost of incarcerating criminal defendants, while providing opportunities for rehabilitation, the judge said. District Attorney Gary Alverson said he sees community corrections growing in the future. Alverson estimated that eventually, more than half of the people in the corrections system will be in some type of community-based program. "It's an umbrella that includes a variety of different remedies and punishments," Alverson said. Unlike prison, Alverson said community corrections offers not only a way to incarcerate a person, but also means by which to rehabilitate them and collect restitution and court costs from them. "Plus, they're in this community rather than miles away," he said. He also said community correction will be more flexible than the penitentiary system. "Hopefully, at some point in the future, your penitentiary system will be freed up for the much more serious and violent offenders," Alverson said. One drawback, however, is that recidivism is high among the type of offenders that are normally considered for community corrections. At the same time, though, Alverson said community corrections can provide help for the underlying cause of many of those offenses, which Alverson said is mainly drug and alcohol abuse. "Those issues can be dealt with in a community corrections setting," he said Hughston said the county is completing renovations in the old county health department building off Water Street in Tuscumbia for use as an administrative facility for the program. "The building is close to completion," Hughston said. Hughston said he is optimistic the county will receive its funding from the Department of Corrections. While he could not say exactly how much the program would receive, the judge said it would be sufficient to begin the program. The idea is for the program to eventually be self-supporting through the payment of fees by the defendants. The community corrections program will be overseen by a board of directors that will include Hughston, Circuit Judge Jackie Hatcher, District Judge George Carpenter, Alverson, Sheriff Ronnie May, Tuscumbia lawyer Ben Gardner, who will represent the defense bar, and county Commissioner Emmitt Jimmar. "We have a well-balanced board," Hughston said. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom