Pubdate: Sat, 28 May 2005
Source: Enid News & Eagle (OK)
Copyright: Enid News & Eagle 2005
Contact:  http://www.enidnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2012

SUBSTANCE ABUSE COURTS A CHEAPER, EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVE TO INCARCERATION

Oklahoma has a drug problem, a problem contributing to the burgeoning
prison population in our state. Some reports show about 85 percent of
Oklahoma's prison inmates are incarcerated for drug-related crimes.

Our state has three options in its efforts to handle this problem.

One, we can ignore it and quit prosecuting people for drug crimes.
Two, we can keep sending people to prison, straining an already
strained system even more. Or, three, we can find alternative means
for handling many of the people arrested.

Obviously, the first option isn't a serious one. We can't just ignore
the problem and hope it goes away.

The second option is an expensive proposition and could be a dangerous
one, too. By putting more people behind bars, we will have to devote
more and more money to the Department of Corrections. Overcrowded
prisons also can spark violence that must be handled by fewer numbers
of corrections officers, unless we spend more money to hire more
prison guards.

Oklahoma has taken a step in the right direction, we believe, by
increasing funding for drug courts. Lawmakers have appropriated $8
million for drug courts, increasing the amount we spend on drug courts
to more than $12 million.

Drug courts are cheaper to run than prisons.

Figures provided by state officials show the cost to put someone in a
minimum-security prison setting for one year is $16,126. The cost to
send that same person through the drug court program for one year is
about $5,000.

Drug courts help people overcome their addictions through treatment,
as opposed to locking them up. To become part of the program, a person
must volunteer, which shows a willingness on his or her part to make
positive changes. People in the program also are non-violent offenders.

As with anything, there are successes and there are failures. But the
positives associated with drug courts outweigh the
disadvantages.

Drug courts can be an effective way to handle problems, and we are
glad to see the state put more money and emphasis into the program.
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MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin