LOCAL COURT OFFERS REAL HOPE FOR DEALING WITH DRUG-RELATED CRIME

If the way to win the war on drugs is to put offenders in prison,
victory should have been declared years ago.

Instead, we keep building more prisons.

In past decade, more than 3,300 prisons have been built in the United
States. They are needed to handle more than 2 million inmates - a
full-quarter of them in for drug-related crimes.

Indiana's prison rate is three times what it was 20 years ago. And how
about this for priorities: Since 1980, state spending for higher
education has risen 69 percent, but it has gone up 162 percent for
prisons.

Yet, what is the alternative? If we don't put drug offenders in the
clink, how can we protect the public? What can we do with people who
steal to get drugs, forge prescriptions or get into car accidents
under the influence?

The question is not a simple one, and long confounded Kenneth Todd, a
judge on the Monroe County bench for 23 years.

Like many leaders in our justice system, Todd was aware of the
enormous cost of sending drug offenders to prisons. What's more, he
saw the cycle of offenders getting out of prison and immediately
returning to substance abuse and crime. It was - and is - a revolving
door.

"The truth is many of them came out of prison with more problems than
they came in with," said Todd. "It was frustrating."

Then, a few years ago, Todd learned about an alternative to sending
drug offenders to prison. A concept called "drug courts," started in
Dade County, Fla., in 1989, stressed rehabilitation over incarceration
and proved to have remarkable success.

There are now around 700 drug courts operating or in the works around
the nation, including 10 in Indiana. Under Todd's leadership - and
with support of the prosecutor - Monroe County's drug court began in
November of 1999. It recently received a $500,000 federal grant for
funding the next three years.

Drug courts have a cost-results model any business CEO would
love:

Instead of spending $25,000 per year or more in tax money to house
drug offenders in prison, participants in drug court pay their own way
for rehabilitation and testing.

Seventy percent of substance abusers who are sent to prison end up
committing more crimes when they get out. Only 3 to 5 percent of those
who successfully complete the drug court program end up back in trouble.

"We're spending about one-tenth as much and getting results that are
about 10 times better," Todd said.

Even with the federal grant, the drug court takes in only a small
fraction of the thousands of cases that fill Monroe County courts. It
currently has 35 to 40 participants, and that could grow to 150 in the
next couple of years, Todd said.

Part of the reason for the small numbers is by design. Both the
prosecutor and the offender must choose the program. Only nonviolent
offenders are accepted. No drug dealers are allowed, only users.
Typical cases involve people charged with felony drunken driving,
prescription drug forgery or possession of cocaine. They must plead
guilty before starting the program. They are required to pay for their
own rehabilitation and other costs - which amounts to $2,000 to $3,000
per year. They must also pay restitution to their crime victims.

Once in the program, participants must follow a strict regime that
includes alcohol breath tests every day or drug testing two or three
times a week. They must attend addiction treatment meetings and
rehabilitation clinics, as well as weekly sessions in court, where
Todd and his assistants review how the participants have done.

The program also includes aspects unusual for a sitting judge - hugs
for participants. Todd doesn't wear his judge's robes. He addresses
participants by their first names. The tone is firm, but supportive.

"One of the things that struck me is that many of these people have
never been told when they do something right," Todd said. "The
positive encouragement, whether it be a few words or a hug, really
means a lot."

On the other hand, participants who fail to adhere to the program's
guidelines are not coddled. They are sent to jail.

"This is a demanding program. They can't skate around it," Todd said.
"Our three principles are: Show up, work hard and be honest."

Yet, despite the demands, only four participants have dropped out or
been sent to jail. The others are staying clean and rebuilding their
lives. The two-year program is expected to have its first graduates
this November.

"We've had some wonderful successes," Todd said. "We've had people
with lengthy criminal histories enroll in colleges, gain managerial
positions at work, become excellent parents."

Involvement in the drug court has also made a deep impact on
Todd.

"This is the best thing I've ever done on the bench in 23 years," he
said.

We can only hope that legislators and law enforcement officials will
get the message.

Locking up hundreds of thousands of Americans for drug violations has
been a boon for the prison-building industry, but a disastrous public
policy.

Alternatives such as drug court deserve greater support. To win the
war against drugs, we must embrace policies that work.