Pubdate: Mon, 02 May 2005 Source: Worcester Telegram & Gazette (MA) Copyright: 2005 Worcester Telegram & Gazette Contact: http://www.telegram.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/509 Note: only publishes letters from state residents. Authors: Patrick A. Fox, is first justice of the District Court Department of the Trial Court, Gardner Division. Henry E. Culver, chief probation office, also contributed to this article. Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/rehab.htm (Treatment) EMPHASIS ON DRUG TREATMENT WOULD EASE CRIME PROBLEM As I See It A recent article in the Worcester Telegram & Gazette regarding the crowded conditions at the Worcester County Jail and House of Correction highlights a related issue that merits the attention of anyone genuinely concerned about the nature of crime and correction in our local area. A principal reason for the overcrowding at the jail and house of correction is the lack of sufficient resources to treat substance abusers within the criminal justice system. A majority of the individuals either awaiting trial at the jail or serving a sentence at the house of correction are persons dependent upon or addicted to alcohol or other drugs. While the criminal activity involved may include possession or possession with intent to distribute controlled substances, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, assault and battery, breaking and entering, larceny or a variety of other offenses, a common thread tying all of these matters together is the use and abuse of these substances. Indeed, if society could somehow eliminate the scourge of substance abuse, overcrowding at many of our correctional institutions would become a historical fact, rather than a present reality. What is sorely needed is a network of community resources as an alternative to incarceration. This network should include detoxification facilities, outpatient counseling centers and inpatient therapeutic treatment programs, all of which should be available to courts as sentencing options, regardless of an offender's ability to pay. This is not about being "soft on crime." Rather it is about making sensible, realistic policy decisions in an attempt to control crime and reduce recidivism. Such an approach would undoubtedly be expensive, but it would be more cost-effective and ultimately less expensive than incarceration. The societal cost of substance abuse is well-known: Individual lives are ruined, families are torn apart, victims of crime suffer and sometimes die, businesses experience financial loss and beleaguered taxpayers foot the bill for a correctional system whose focus is misdirected. Instead of concentrating on the goal of rehabilitation, supported by the enforcement authority of the courts, we appear to be moving in the opposite direction, insofar as the problem of substance abuse is concerned. Funding for treatment resources has diminished, leaving judges with few dispositional alternatives to incarceration. We, as a society, must recognize the problem and summon the political will to do something about it. We urge our legislative leaders and representatives to create and financially sustain the resources necessary to meaningfully address the problem of substance abuse within the criminal justice system. Failure to do so will leave the potentially dangerous condition of prison overcrowding unresolved. Patrick A. Fox is first justice of the District Court Department of the Trial Court, Gardner Division. Henry E. Culver, chief probation office, also contributed to this article. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom