JAIL PILING UP WITH DRUG, ALCOHOL OFFENDERS

Besides murderers, rapists, burglars and sex offenders, drug and alcohol
abusers are a consistent group in daily jail populations.

From marijuana to cocaine and methamphetamines, to driving under the
influence, being an intoxicated pedestrian and consumption of alcohol by a
minor - drugs and alcohol are putting local residents behind bars.

During the last five years within city limits, nearly 800 people have been
arrested on drug charges. Another 2,030 were charged with DUI while driving
in the city during the same time frame.

"Ever since I've been involved in law enforcement, since 1984, It's obvious
the majority of people in jail were intoxicated or on drugs, or had
committed crimes because they were that way," Finney County Sheriff Kevin
Bascue said.

"Now, it's 2001 and the results are the same," he said. "Any officer or
jail person will tell you the majority of people in jail are there as a
result of being under the influence of something."

Some are jailed for possessing or selling narcotics. Others were legally
drunk and were pulled over for driving. More are driven by intoxicated
states to behave illegally, while the rest commit crimes to get money to
buy drugs and alcohol.

"I think in Finney County it's more likely than not that drugs and alcohol
is why people are in jail," Wheeler said. "There's a drug problem here -
it's rampant."

A 1998 report by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at
Columbia University concluded that at the end of 1996, 80 percent of the
more than 1.7 million incarcerated adults were seriously involved with
drugs and alcohol abuse.

The 1.4 million inmates are the parents of 2.4 million children.

The CASA report stated, "In America, crime and alcohol and drug abuse are
joined at the hip."

Further, the U.S. Department of Justice estimates that each year, about
183,000 rapes and sexual assaults involve alcohol use by the offender, as
do more than 197,000 robberies, 661,000 aggravated assaults and 1.7 million
simple assaults.

Locally, the numbers of inmates in the county jail booked under specific
alcohol or drug charges are consistent. For example, on June 28 there were
17 people in custody for related charges, down one from a week earlier. On
June 11, there were 23 people incarcerated for those charges, while on May
9, that number dropped to 17.

While those figures reflect specific alcohol/drug-related charges, other
crimes aren't so telling of substance abuse.

"Most domestic situations, assaults and batteries, as well as thefts, are
alcohol and drug-related," Bascue said. "I would say where alcohol is
available, that crimes have the potential to be committed. They're not
always reported. They could be happening in homes or at bars. Really,
anytime people are drinking or involved with drugs, there's a potential for
crime.

"Some, too, are committed to support drug habits, or as part of gang
activity," he said. "But not all crimes are committed because of drugs and
alcohol, and all people who drink or use drugs don't commit crimes."

Many offenders, when they are arrested, are charged with multiple, nondrug
or alcohol-specific crimes. For example, in April, a 22-year- old man was
booked in jail on possessing an opiate, aggravated assault, liabilities for
crimes of another, criminal damage to property, theft, aggravated unlawful
use of weapons, obstructing the legal process, shooting into an occupied
dwelling and possession of stolen property.

But for some, drinking or drug use can turn deadly. Last October, a man who
was driving above the legal drinking limit allegedly caused three deaths
and endangered his two children who were in the car with him. In a twofold
reaction to drug abuse, a 39-year-old Garden City man was executed last
summer for a four-state, five-day killing spree that was fueled by a
cocaine-induced mania. Two of his victims were women who worked at a local
convenience store.

And sometimes, no violence is involved. In February, a 38-year-old
Deerfield man under the influence broke into two businesses and caused
$70,000 worth of damage to them. The man drove trucks, as well as a Ditch
Witch trencher, inside one of the businesses, crashing them into walls and
other vehicles.

"There is a positive correlation, not a direct correlation between crime
and drug and alcohol use," said John Wisner, associate professor of
psychiatry at K.U. Med Center. "In certain types of people, you do find
more of a connection. If you look at the perpetrators, some will be more
likely to be intoxicated at the time of the crime. Especially crimes
associated with violence, like domestic battery or weapons charges."

Wisner said the loss of inhibitions alcohol or drugs creates can cause
people to strike out on impulses, sometimes criminal.

"Personalities are a big key," he said. "With antisocial types, they're to
begin with not sensitive to the rights of others. Add alcohol to that mix
and there's some trouble. Folks who use drugs are more likely to disobey
the rules. If you take heroin, there's a risk you'll become addicted, so,
you don't want the trouble and don't take it. But some personalities, by
nature, just don't care."

Russ Jennings, director of the local juvenile detention center, said
substance abuse and crime seem to be the rule, not the exception.

"Overall, it's the social attitude towards the issue," Jennings said of
drugs and alcohol use. "It's the level of acceptance of drugs and alcohol,
and peer pressure. It's almost deemed in society as socially acceptable, a
kind of rite of passage. Virtually, it's considered by many adults as a
rite of passage.

"There needs to be significant change in social acceptability," he said.
"Change the value system, but where? Well, I don't think people will be
wild about change. Mostly, people make a conscious decision to abuse drugs
or alcohol. I don't see a change. It's too deeply woven into society."

The social acceptance of drinking and drug use has sparked involvement of
minors, Jennings said. He estimated around 70 percent to 80 percent of
juveniles who go through the detention center are impacted by drugs in some
form.

In the past two years, 20 percent of juvenile offenders assigned to
intensive supervision tested positive in drug and alcohol assessments.

"Teen drinking and drug abuse is on the rise," Wisner said. "Kids can more
readily access it and it's tolerated in society. Kids are almost encouraged
to drink. They think it's a part of growing up."

Wheeler agreed.

"It's saddening in our community to see an increase in children at younger
ages becoming drug and alcohol abusers," Wheeler said. "They learn from
their parents and peers. The prevalence of drugs and alcohol travels to our
youth, and they're our future. It's really sad."

Jennings said the answer would be treatment for juveniles with substance a
problems. The only problem is that some programs last only three months,
while others are costly.

"Solutions? I don't know," Jennings said. "I don't believe it's as simple
as saying just do this and the issue is resolved. Sometimes it's family
issues, and those are difficult."

In 1998, more than 9 percent of Kansas's budget was spent toward substance
abuse, at $584,534. While 99 cents of "the substance abuse dollar" went to
burdening the public with enforcement and incarceration costs, 1 cent went
toward treatment.

"Your mom told you not to do it," Wisner said of drinking and using drugs.
"You learn in Sunday school not to do it. It's pasted on billboards. Don't
do, it's bad. We've made it a rule not to abuse drugs and alcohol. Those
who do are likely to be more impulsive and less inhibited by rules and
expectations. A preacher could get into a fight if he were drunk, but it's
likely he won't. It just depends on the person.

"But, it's not like if you smoke pot, you'll be a drooling criminal," he
said. "Drugs and alcohol are additive towards crime, not causative."