OFFENDERS' ADDICTIONS OFTEN GO UNTREATED

Whenever a criminal goes out in search of opportunity, he's almost sure to
have a partner in crime: substance abuse.

Seventy-five percent to 85 percent of inmates coming into Nebraska's
prisons need treatment for drug or alcohol addiction.

A 2001 federal study found that 69 percent of those arrested in Omaha
tested positive for drug use - and that was of those who agreed to the
screening.

Despite those mind-boggling numbers, treatment can be hard to come by in
Nebraska's criminal justice system.

Hundreds of addicts are locked up each year and eventually leave prison
without appropriate treatment.

Lower-level criminals find a shortage of public assistance to pay for
expensive treatment and waiting lists at treatment centers, increasing the
chances that their abuse eventually will help land them in a prison cell.

Nebraska now is considering steps to divert more addicted felons from
prison into community-based treatment programs.

Options could include special probation units for drunken drivers, expanded
use of drug courts and more public dollars for treatment.

If Nebraska does turn to more treatment in lieu of prison, it will be
joining a national trend.

Arizona and California voters have passed initiatives aimed at treating
thousands of low-level, nonviolent drug offenders. Drug courts, which
divert offenders into supervised treatment programs, are proliferating
around the country.

Nebraska has adult drug courts available in only six of its 93 counties,
and those aren't serving as many offenders as they could because of lack of
capacity and funds.

The trend toward diverting drug offenders has been largely driven by economics.

The nation's prisons for two decades have been filling up with drug dealers
and addicts. Outpatient treatment costs about $5,000 a year compared to
nearly $23,000 for a prison bed. Studies show that every dollar spent on
treatment saves between $4 and $7 in public criminal justice costs.

But experts say it's also a matter of what is best for the offender and
public safety.

"There are a lot of offenders out there that, if you remove the drug abuse,
you also remove the crime," said Denise Herz, a former University of
Nebraska at Omaha criminal justice professor who studied drug treatment in
Nebraska.

Treatment doesn't always work. But one federal study found that those
treated for drug addiction in prison were 73 percent less likely to be
re-arrested later than those not treated.

Jamie Wert knows the link between substance abuse and crime. The Michigan
native said his heavy drinking was what started a downward spiral that
landed him in prison in Nebraska last year. He was drunk when he got caught
trying to steal computers after a break-in at Creighton University.

"Most of the people here aren't the hard-nosed criminals you see in the
movies," he said last fall before completing his sentence. "If I wasn't
drinking, I wouldn't be here."

Within Nebraska's prisons, there are waits of up to six months for
substance abuse treatment, putting help out of reach for many offenders on
shorter sentences. A bigger problem is getting offenders the level of
treatment that meets their needs, said Bill Schnackenberg, who directs the
programs.

It's not known how many lower-level criminals in the state probation system
aren't getting treatment, but a federal study offers an indication.

Five percent of arrestees in Omaha in 2001 told researchers they had been
treated for substance abuse the previous year, the third-lowest figure
among the 33 major cities studied.