PROBATION REFORMS CUT DRUG ABUSE, IMPROVE PUBLIC SAFETY

The Sun raised many important points in its assessment of probation
in Maryland, and I am pleased that it recognizes the promise of Break
the Cycle, our new approach to supervising drug-addicted offenders
("Crime and no punishment," editorial, Nov. 19 and "Lieutenant
governor hijacks probation," editorial, Nov. 20).

But I must contend with the underlying premise that these reforms
fall short because they ask too much of parole and probation. On the
contrary, they will succeed precisely because they expect more --
both of the agents and of the offenders whom they supervise.

That is why we should continue to move forward to provide the
strategy and the resources that agents need.

Maryland's parole and probation system, along with our entire public
safety strategy, is undergoing a major shift in direction. To be
sure, there have been difficulties. But even in their infancy, the
reforms are showing promising results.

Last year, a University of Maryland study found a 53 percent
reduction in drug use among about 11,800 offenders whose probation
requirements included drug testing twice a week. A follow-up study of
1,500 Break the Cycle offenders found that re-arrests were 23 percent
lower than in other offenders, resulting in less drug activity and
fewer victims.

Make no mistake: There is a lot of work to do. For years, the
Department of Parole and Probation was the forgotten stepchild of law
enforcement. During the 1980s, when the number of offenders under
supervision nearly doubled, parole and probation agents rose only 2
percent.

Understaffed and under-resourced agents were overwhelmed. Without
resources or time to adequately supervise offenders, crime increased,
court dockets swelled and prison populations soared. This reflected a
national phenomenon, and few states have worked as aggressively as
Maryland to fix it.

Fundamental changes in parole and probation have enormous potential
to reduce crime. Focusing on drug-addicted offenders is particularly
promising. Offenders on parole or probation consume about half the
cocaine and heroin used in our country. This population drives a
major portion of crime, not just in a few jurisdictions but
throughout the state.

In addition to supporting the drug trade, addicted offenders commit
robberies and burglaries to get money to support their drug habits.

If we can end their addictions, Maryland's crime rate, which has
fallen 19 percent since 1995 to its lowest level in 25 years, could
drop even further. For that reason, the Glendening-Townsend
administration has been moving to a new model of supervision for
several years.

When these comprehensive reforms -- of which the Break the Cycle
model is one part -- are complete, parole and probation officers will
be based not in a central office, but in the community, working
closely with police, treatment and community residents to supervise
offenders closely.

Most agents will be deployed in neighborhoods and have an average of
50 offenders to supervise. Offenders with drug problems will be given
treatment, tested frequently and sanctioned immediately for relapses
- -- a model research has shown most effective in keeping them off
drugs.

There is steady -- if slow -- progress on the implementation issues
about which The Sun has expressed concern. Delays in processing drug
tests have been sharply reduced: Today, test results are turned
around within 24 hours. Delivering swift and certain sanctions for
failed drug tests remains a serious problem, but we are making
progress.

In December 1999, an abysmally low 3 percent of positive tests met
with a sanction. In June 2000, 26 percent did. That represents
progress, but it is still not good enough.

Still more encouraging, an innovative pilot program in Hagerstown has
achieved a 94 percent sanction rate. Under the leadership of Judith
Sachwald, the new director of the Division of Parole and Probation,
we intend to replicate the elements of that pilot program in other
jurisdictions to raise the sanction rate throughout the state.

Continued progress will take time and resources. It will not be easy.
But that is to be expected with a pilot reform only 2 years old.

Over the past several years, with the support of the General
Assembly, our administration has made unprecedented investments in
supervision and treatment. We've increased the number of parole
agents by 12 percent, from 607 to 681. We've also made a record 20
percent increase in the department's budget, from $58.1 million to
$69.8 million.

To attract and retain quality agents, we have made dramatic increases
in agent salaries; both the starting salaries and the maximum
salaries for agents have been raised 18 percent in the past year. At
the same time, we've increased state funding for drug treatment 56
percent this year.

These measures are a down payment on the transformation of parole and
probation.

Once fully implemented, these reforms promise a significant reduction
in our rates of crime, violence and drug abuse.

But we should not be naive. No reform, however well designed or
implemented, can eliminate crime from our streets. There will
continue to be people with the will and means to do harm. Criminals
will still find the cracks and shadows of our law enforcement system.

But we can step up supervision and enforcement. We can make it harder
for people to commit crimes, and when they commit them, we can make
sure they are punished to the full extent of the law.