Pubdate: Sun, 01 Mar 2009
Source: Union Leader (Manchester, NH)
Page: Front Page
Copyright: 2009 The Union Leader Corp.
Contact:  http://www.theunionleader.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/761
Note: Out-of-state letters are seldom published.
Author: Katherine D. Rogers
Note: Katherine D. Rogers is Merrimack County Attorney.
Cited: Law Enforcement Against Prohibition http://www.CopsSayLegalizeDrugs.com
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?166 (Law Enforcement Against Prohibition)
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v09/n212/a03.html

JAIL IS RIGHT PLACE FOR MANY DRUG OFFENDERS

The three members of Law Enforcement Against Prohibition (LEAP) 
quoted in last Sunday's article "Opposing the drug laws they enforce" 
have presented a superficial and misleading picture of New 
Hampshire's criminal justice system. I believe they do a disservice 
to the community by oversimplifying the issues and omitting some 
basic facts with which each of them, as law enforcement 
professionals, should be familiar.

It is plainly not the case that "we treat drug addiction as a 
criminal problem," as Epping Police Officer Bradley Jardis says. Our 
law draws a clear distinction between addiction and possession or 
trafficking of drugs. It is not a crime to be an addict, just as it 
is not a crime to be an alcoholic.

Rick Van Wickler, superintendent of the Cheshire County Jail, 
estimates that "13 percent of the inmates at his facility are 
non-violent drug offenders." He does not define what he means by 
"non-violent drug offender." Based on my experience and my review of 
statistics from the Merrimack County Jail, I suspect that the 13 
percent figure includes people who, in addition to committing "pure" 
drug crimes such as possession or trafficking also committed 
additional non-drug crimes like burglary, receiving stolen property, 
forgery, habitual offender, assault, and resisting arrest.

I further suspect that of those serving jail time solely for drug 
crimes, the vast majority had a substantial prior criminal history 
that played a role in landing them in jail.

It is also important to distinguish between the two groups of inmates 
at any jail -- those who are awaiting trial and those who are serving 
sentences. Strictly speaking, pre-trial inmates are not in jail 
because they committed a crime. They are there because the court 
found they posed a significant risk of flight or danger to themselves 
or the community. In my experience, persons whose only pending 
charges are for drug offenses are among the least likely to be 
detained pre-trial.

Sentenced inmates are the only ones in jail because of a conviction. 
And as noted earlier, it generally takes much more than a single drug 
conviction to put a person in jail. Recent statistics from the 
Merrimack County Jail present a quite different picture from the one 
advanced by the three LEAP members.

At the end of January, we had 90 sentenced inmates. Eleven had 
sentences for drug-related convictions. But of those 11, six also had 
other non-drug-related convictions or probation violations 
contributing to their jail sentences.

This means that only five inmates (5.6 percent) were serving 
sentences based solely on drug-related convictions. With regard to 
pre-trial inmates, out of 236 inmates, 43 had new drug charges listed 
as the pending offense. Of these 43, 29 had other non-drug-related 
substantive offenses also listed as pending offenses, so only 14 were 
being held solely on drug-related charges, which comes to 5.9 percent.

When we look at the criminal histories of sentenced and pre-trial 
inmates who had solely drug-related offenses as the basis for 
detention, we find that for the most part they each had substantial 
criminal histories. The fact that a burglar or thief was motivated by 
a drug habit does not lessen the importance of protecting the 
community from this person.

For those with alcohol or chemical dependency problems, jail provides 
an environment where they can get straight for awhile and thus become 
more receptive to treatment programs. (Many drug-dependent persons 
wind up in jail after community-based programs have failed to alter 
their behavior.)

Superintendent White says of drug offenders, "I don't think jail is 
the best place for them." What he leaves out is the fact that for 
some offenders, jail is the only way to ensure that society is 
protected. And for other offenders, jail is the brick wall at the end 
of the road that gets them to take treatment and rehabilitation seriously.

When a person is convicted of any crime, the prosecutor makes a 
recommendation to the court as to what sentence, if any, would be 
appropriate. The final decision is up to the judge. To my knowledge, 
New Hampshire prosecutors take their responsibility in this regard 
seriously, as do the judges. They do not send drug offenders to jail 
unless they believe it's necessary for protection of the community 
and for individuals' rehabilitation.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom