COUNTY PONDERS DRUG COURT

Take drug addiction out of the crime scene and authorities may have a
chance of cutting the crime rate. Guilford County officials are
backing a proven program that has done just that.

Guilford County commissioners are expected to approve tonight a
three-year $499,914 federal grant to start a drug-treatment court.
Guilford officials will contribute the equivalent of $201,446 in
manpower, supplies and technical support. Drug courts offer offenders
a chance to get sober through intensive counseling, random urine
tests and regular meetings with a judge instead of automatic prison
time.

Participants who do not adhere to the program's stringent guidelines
run the risk of going to trial and, if convicted, incarceration.

"We want this program to treat the problems of crime and addiction
and not the symptoms," said Guilford County District Attorney Stuart
Albright. "If they don't comply with the conditions, I have no
problem putting them on trial."

Guilford's Greensboro-based program will start in early 2002, said
Wheaton Pike, project coordinator and director of the county's
pretrial services agency. In three years, as many as 300 people could
go through drug court, Pike said.

Sessions will be held in District Court in Greensboro and High Point.
Most cases will come from felonious offenders. But drug dealers need
not apply, court officials say.

"Most of our clients are prison-bound and this will be a last step
for them," Pike said. "It will be tough and we know some people won't
make it through the first two weeks."

The program will be supported by a network of drug abuse and
employment counselors, and housing providers, Pike said.

Guilford will join Forsyth County as the second area locally to start
a program. The state has 14 drug-treatment courts, according to the
N.C. Administrative Office of the Courts. It took Guilford officials
about 18 months to get the program organized and financed. Forsyth
County has had drug courts since 1994.

"The other programs show that the people who complete it do not
become repeat offenders," Albright said.

Under Guilford's program, offenders will join the program as part of
plea negotiations and then undergo intensive counseling for about a
year. They will meet with the same judge almost every week and meet
with a case manager or probation officer at least once a day during
the first 90 days. Offenders must also attend community support
groups such as Narcotics Anonymous and Alcoholics Anonymous.

"And if there is a violation after the agreement, the person goes to
jail in 24 hours," Pike said. "There are rules and they must be
followed."

Clients pay court costs. In Forsyth County, that's $500.

"Most of our clients see this program as a way to get clean and
sober," said Sonia Riley, coordinator of the Forsyth drug treatment
court program. "But if they deny they have a problem, they can take
their case to court."

Drug court has worked for 80 graduates, Riley said.

Albright said he expects District Court officials to spend as much as
30 percent of their time on drug court.

But overall, the programs save money.

The courts spend $2,000 to $2,500 per addicted offender. That is far
less than the total cost of taking an offender to trial and other
justice system costs, including criminal investigations, pretrial
detentions, pretrial hearings, and witness and jury costs, according
to AOC.