Pubdate: Tue, 27 Nov 2007
Source: Times Daily (Florence, AL)
Copyright: 2007 Times Daily
Contact:  http://www.timesdaily.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1641
Author: Russ Corey, Staff Writer
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)

OFFICIALS SAY AS MUCH AS 85 PERCENT OF CRIME CAN BE TRACED BACK TO A 
DEFENDANT WITH A DRUG PROBLEM

Ralph Richey is pretty certain that most burglars and thieves are 
after more than a few pieces of jewelry, guns, car stereos or televisions.

Regardless of what's taken, what they're really after is something 
they can quickly sell.

In most cases, the St. Florian Police Chief said, the money they 
receive for the stolen items is used to purchase illegal drugs.

Law enforcement officials such as Richey, district attorneys and 
criminal judges agree that a majority of crimes can be traced to drug 
addiction.

"They've got a habit and they're looking for a nickle or a dime here 
and there to support their habit," Richey said.

He said most every weekend, whether officers look for it or not, the 
small Lauderdale County town has a drug arrest.

Those in law enforcement and the judicial system say as much as 80 
percent to 85 percent of crime can be traced back to a defendant with 
a drug problem.

Franklin County District Attorney Joey Rushing said that applies to 
crimes that involve drug possession or distribution, crimes that are 
committed while a defendant is under the influence of drugs, or 
robberies and burglaries that are committed because someone needs 
money for drugs.

"I know that a lot of the thefts that are traced back are for drugs 
or money to buy drugs," Colbert County Circuit Judge Hal Hughston said.

Hughston said many assault cases are the result of defendants being 
under the influence of drugs.

A capital murder case in Colbert County involving a husband and wife 
charged with brutally killing a man was directly tied to drugs, officials say.

Eugene Pierce, director of the Franklin County Community Corrections 
Program, said many bad check and forgery cases can be tied to drug addiction.

Lauderdale County Circuit Judge Mike Jones said one way to determine 
the involvement of drugs in non-drug related cases would be to 
examine the pre-sentencing investigations that are prepared by the 
state probation office before a defendant is sentenced.

He said the question of drug dependency is part of the pre-sentence 
investigation.

Even then, there are those who clearly have a drug problem but deny 
it, he said.

Jones said that out of 880 felony cases that came through his 
courtroom in 2006, 410 were directly related to drugs and most of the 
balance were drug related.

"Drugs permeate the criminal process throughout," Hughston said.

One solution that Colbert and other counties have begun to explore 
are drug courts, which are a part of a larger community corrections program.

"The reason we started community corrections was to try and deal with 
the addiction," Hughston said.

He said if the court system can help eliminate a defendant's drug 
addiction, they hope to eliminate the associated criminal behavior 
that it caused.

Hughston said he can also order a defendant to go through a drug 
rehabilitation program when sentencing someone to prison.

"Normally they comply and put them in those programs," the judge 
said. "I've had some people write back and say they'd been through it 
and say it had been very effective. Only through time can you tell."

Pierce said defendants who express a desire to go through drug court 
are screened to determine the level of addiction and also if the 
person is attempting to fake an addiction to get into the system.

Defendants in drug court can have charges against them dropped if 
they successfully complete the intense 18-month program.

Pierce said all defendants in the community corrections program are 
screened for drugs.

"We do a lot of random drug screenings," Pierce said. "Even if it's 
not a drug related crime, we will test them anyway."

Pierce said the amount of crime could be reduced if drug addiction is 
reduced. That can be accomplished through treatment programs and education.

While there are many drug abuse awareness programs at the middle 
school level, Pierce said those programs should really begin in 
elementary school.

He said he's been in the corrections business for 20 years and has 
dealt with three generations of the same family. Children can be 
taught about the dangers of drug abuse in schools, yet see the 
activity at home where it becomes common.

"It's a learned behavior," he said.

According to the Office of National Drug Control Policy, research has 
shown that combining criminal justice sanctions with drug treatment 
can be effective in decreasing drug use and drug-related crime.

According to its Web site, defendants involved in supervision-intense 
programs, such as drug court, tend to stay in treatment longer and do 
as well as or better than those who are not under legal pressure.

Defendants who fail the drug court program can have their previously 
agreed upon sentences immediately imposed.

Bennett Wright, a statistician with the Alabama Sentencing 
Commission, said there haven't been any studies to determine how many 
crimes, such as burglaries or thefts, could be connected directly to 
a drug addiction.

"There is not a foolproof way to capture that in a court record," 
Wright said. "There's no legal reason to put that in a court record."

He said the Chief Justice's office is advocating the establishment of 
drug courts in all 67 Alabama counties because of the amount of cases 
that are tied back to drugs.

"They've been very successful in other states," Wright said. "We'd 
like to see the full potential of drug courts realized in Alabama."
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