DRUG COURT CAN SAVE MONEY AND TURN SOME LIVES AROUND

A drug court in the 86th District Court is a compelling idea worth a longer
look.

Drug courts, which started about five years ago elsewhere in Michigan,
emphasize treatment over jail time for non-violent offenders.

If a drug court worked here, it could start hundreds of practicing
alcoholics and addicts on the road to recovery. It could reduce crime
because many crimes are committed under the influence of drugs or alcohol
and probably wouldn't be committed otherwise. It could reduce populations
in our crowded jails. And it could help unclog our criminal courts.

The arguments for drug courts are especially persuasive when you look at
costs and the success rates elsewhere.

Based on a program of tight oversight and intense treatment, drug courts
may cost more in the short run but ultimately save money and the chaos in
family, school and public life caused by repeat offenders.

The National Association of Drug Court Professionals in Alexandria, Va.,
estimates that drug court costs $2,000 to $2,500 annually per defendant,
while jailing a defendant for a year costs more than 10 times that.

Funding for drug courts comes mostly from federal grants. Congress budgeted
$40 million for them in 1999 and 2000. The concept is used in about 700
courts nationwide.

The courts operate in much the same way as regular court. Defendants who
break the law are charged, tried and sentenced. Instead of going to jail,
they begin a three-phase probation period that lasts 12 to 15 months.

Under the plan being considered here, defendants would be required to take
daily breath tests for alcohol, take weekly tests for drug use and meet
regularly with a probation officer during the first phase. They also would
be required to go before a judge to be evaluated for progress. During the
next two stages, fewer meetings with probation officers and the judge would
be required and defendants eventually would graduate from the program with
a ceremony in court. If they flunk, they go to jail.

There are a handful of drug courts in Michigan - five in Oakland county and
others in Wane, Kalamazoo, Berrien and Kent counties. One that local judges
are looking at is in Charlotte in Eaton County near Lansing. During its
first 2 1/2 years, it saw its recidivism rate drop from nearly 50 percent
to about 10 percent.

That's an astonishing figure given the fact that relapse is a common
problem in attempts to recover from alcohol and drug addiction.

District judges are right to gather hard facts and figures to prove their
case. In order for any drug court here to be effective and effectively
monitored, court officials have to know exactly what they're up against.

Some of the questions that should be answered include:

- - What percentage of the inmates are in our jails now because their crimes
were drug or alcohol related?

- - What kind of treatment options do they have now and how effective are
they? How much do they cost?

- - What is the recidivism rate now? How many extra probation officers will
be needed?

- - What will be the total cost of a drug court and where will the money come
from? What will be the savings?

The evidence undoubtedly will show the need for a drug court and a
different way of trying to help people walk the path of sober, law-abiding
citizens.

Alcoholics and drug addicts should never be above the law. They are
responsible for their crimes even when they were "too drunk" or "too messed
up" to remember them.

Jail keeps law-breaking alcoholics and addicts from drinking and using
drugs by locking them up in a dry place.

But the drug court, which combines threat of jail with an intensive program
that teaches responsibility and principles of recovery, might help find
them find the way to long-term sobriety.