DRUG COURTS GIVE HOPE IN WAR ON DRUGS

The billions of dollars the United States spends each year to fight
the war on drugs is eating away at the economic heart of this country
and reducing the effectiveness of law enforcement in dealing with
other threats to the nation's security.

We can't build prisons fast enough to keep up with the number of
people convicted of drug charges. Yet, there is little evidence to
suggest that all the enforcement and deterrence efforts do much to
diminish the problem.

One program, however, shows promise. Drug courts in four districts in
Central Louisiana have shown that rehabilitation can be more
successful and cost-effective than incarceration.

The success rate of the Rapides Parish drug court program, for
example, matches that of similar programs nationwide in terms of
keeping graduates off drugs and out of prison.

Unlike jail time where little rehabilitation treatment is available,
offenders who are put in the drug-treatment program get close
supervision and have to stick to strict rules or face the
consequences, including jail time.

The full weight of the court is brought to bear, as are the skills of
law enforcement officials and experts in education and vocational
training. Program participants also are given incentives to stay away
from drugs.

Incarceration costs between $20,000 and $50,000 per person, per year,
depending on where it takes place. A jail cell can cost as much as
$80,000 to build. By contrast, studies show that the drug court system
costs between $2,500 and $4,000 a year for each offender.

The costs to the taxpayers can be imagined. For context, consider that
in 2001 the Rapides Parish District Attorney's Office handled 1,534
felony drug cases -- a number that is projected to double by the end
of this year. Not all of those who were charged were found guilty and
sentenced to jail, of course. But the case load certainly suggests the
scope of the problem.

Offenders who complete the drug court program and do not use drugs for
a year stand a good chance of staying clean. In Louisiana, for
example, less than 6 percent of drug-court graduates are re-arrested
on drug charges the following year, according to proponents of the
program. Offenders who did not participate in the program and were
sentenced to prison committed drug-related crimes after being released
at much higher rates.

The fact remains that more prisons cells are needed to handle the
legions of serious, repeat offenders and to meet the requirements of
mandatory sentences. Sadly, the demand for prison space likely will
continue to grow for the foreseeable future.

But the drug court option should be pursued aggressively for offenders
who qualify to participate. It has proven to be effective,

The Ninth Judicial District Court in Rapides Parish plans to have a
separate facility to house the drug program and its services. That
makes sense.

Options such as these give some hope, however slight, that we are
making some progress in the war on drugs.