DRUG COURT IN PORTSMOUTH: PROGRAM STILL HAS HIGH DROPOUT RATE

PORTSMOUTH - The city's 3-year-old drug treatment court is a sound and
promising program, but the percentage of dropouts is higher than
national averages, according to a recent Norfolk State University
study. The NSU researchers attributed the lower completion rate to the
newness of the program. But Circuit Judge Johnny E. Morrison, who
oversees the court, said he was not surprised by the disparity because
the program is designed to help addicts who have the hardest time
kicking their habits. "We tend to target the people on the rock
bottom," Morrison said. "They needed some help."

The program, one of 18 drug courts in the state, was started in
January 2001 as a way to rehabilitate nonviolent drug offenders under
the scrutiny of Circuit Court judges. Drug dealers do not qualify.

The program is similar to Norfolk's drug court. Participants who have
been convicted of drug-related offenses undertake a strict schedule of
therapy and life-skills training and regularly appear in court. If
they complete the program, they serve their sentence in treatment; if
not, they must fulfill their sentence, which could include a jail or
prison term.

The 12- to 18-month program is intended to reduce drug use, lower
recidivism rates and shorten the court's processing times for drug
cases. It is funded through state and federal grants.

The report found that the drugs most commonly used by Portsmouth's
defendants were alcohol, heroin and cocaine. Compared with drug courts
across the nation, a higher percentage of Portsmouth's defendants were
black and female.

Between January 2001 and March 2003, 196 people were referred to the
court and 87 participated, according to the study.

Fifty-one percent stayed with the program, compared with 62 percent in
Virginia drug courts and 65 to 85 percent across the nation. In
Portsmouth, 12 percent of participants graduated, compared with 47
percent nationally.

More recent numbers, which were released after the report was
completed, show that of 126 people entering the program, 43 percent
have stayed in and nearly 17 percent have graduated.

Researchers said the program effectively combined rehabilitation with
the judicial system, identified prospective defendants early and
frequently tested for drug and alcohol use.

The court needed to improve some administrative functions, including
record-keeping, according to the report. Morrison said administrators
made those changes earlier this year.

"Traditional means have not always been successful," Commonwealth's
Attorney Earle C. Mobley said of the court. "This is a strategy that
has been working."