Pubdate: Tue, 27 Apr 2004 Source: Star-News (NC) Copyright: 2004 Wilmington Morning Star Contact: http://www.wilmingtonstar.com Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/500 Author: Si Cantwell Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/testing.htm (Drug Testing) JAIL IS ONLY ONE WAY TO TREAT A CRIMINAL AND NOT ALWAYS BEST Some politicians try to appear tough on crime by talking about how many criminals they would send to jail. John Carriker, district attorney of New Hanover and Pender counties, took a different tack in remarks to the Community Growth Planning Core Team last week. I called him Monday to go over his comments. Basically, he said the state spends too little fighting crime but too much housing inmates. He said the state doesn't devote as large a portion of its annual budget to criminal justice as other states. But it spends more per prisoner than many do, he said. We spend $25,000 a year to incarcerate an adult and $50,000 for a juvenile. New Hanover County, he said, sent the state's third-largest number of convicts to prison for drug offenses in 2001. Many were guilty of other offenses too, but that's a lot of drug convictions. One reason may be that there are lots of cops here. The county jail has a capacity of 209 beds, although it usually houses far more inmates than that. But there are 620 sworn law enforcement officers in the county. That sounded like a lot until he began ticking off agencies Monday: city police, sheriff's department, N.C. Highway Patrol, police forces in the beach towns, hospital police, campus police, port police, airport police, Department of Motor Vehicles, State Bureau of Investigation. Lots of folks with the power to arrest. So what are the alternatives to jail or prison? Terry Gootee, judicial district manager of the Division of Community Corrections, helped me with that one. His people handle probation and parole issues. Drug Court is one alternative. That's for long-term drug users who want to change their lives. They have to go before a judge every two weeks to tell how they're getting along, and they're monitored closely with drug tests. Some offenders are ordered to check in daily with the Day Reporting Center at Coastal Horizons Center. Those with jobs may check in by phone. Jobless offenders are assigned to classes to get a high school equivalency diploma, learn household budgeting or master anger management. Mr. Gootee's division structures restitution payments and monitors whether they're being made. Intensive probation steps up monitoring, with officers having contact with the offender at least five times a week. Under electronic house arrest, ankle bracelets reveal offenders' whereabouts. They can go to their jobs, but they must stay home otherwise, unless granted permission to go somewhere such as grocery shopping. Officers verify presence at work and elsewhere with phone calls and surprise visits. These are ways to keep offenders with their families and at their jobs. They're cheaper alternatives than prison, and I believe they're more likely to help an offender turn his life around. All involve drug testing. Finally, Mr. Carriker said the best way to keep people out of prison is to reach them when they're young. After-school programs keep troubled youngsters busy during the afternoon hours, when they're on their own and prone to temptation. Mentoring programs such as Big Buddy are effective at keeping kids out of the court system, he said. So it's a shame the Big Buddy program has 150 young people on a waiting list. The program is run by Family Services of the Lower Cape Fear. Program Director Kate Weir said about 50 young people ages 6 to 19 are in the program. (Ms. Weir's husband, Rob, is assistant features editor at the Star-News.) Volunteers commit to spending four hours a week with a child. They're matched up by considering interests and preferences. Ms. Weir said retirees make great volunteers. They have the time, and they tend to be consistent and dedicated. For information about the program, call her at 343-8787. Visit the online "Common Sense" forum via www.starnewsonline.com/cantwell - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin