DRUG COURTS COULD CLOSE

RALEIGH - Drug courts across North Carolina aimed at putting addicts into
treatment instead of prison -- including those in Wake and Durham counties
- --could be shut down by state court officials trying to trim their budget.

Drug treatment courts are among several programs that the Administrative
Office of the Courts has proposed eliminating to squeeze $11 million from
its $305 million annual budget, under orders from state lawmakers wrangling
with a $2 billion shortfall.

Other court programs facing potential cuts include Sentencing Services and
dispute settlement centers. Gov. Mike Easley plans to release his budget
proposal today for the fiscal year starting July 1.

"It's a choice between cutting programs or closing courts. We can't close
courts," said Patty McQuillan, spokeswoman for the office.

AOC director John Kennedy said he struggled with proposing cuts to valuable
programs, but he had an obligation to first protect jobs that keep the
courts running.

Besides Durham and Wake, the proposed elimination of the $1.1 million a
year in drug court funding would affect eight other judicial districts,
including Charlotte-Mecklenburg and Forsyth.

However, Orange County's program, which is expected to start in July, won't
be affected because officials aren't relying on state money.

Officials in Wake and Durham expressed disappointment Monday about possibly
losing these programs aimed at helping addicts break out of the cycle of
criminal behavior.

"That's a bad thing for the people of this state," said Raleigh lawyer
Bryan Collins, who represents the 50 participants in Wake's 6-year-old
program. "It makes perfectly good sense to treat drug-addicted people in
the hopes they will then become productive citizens and stop committing
crimes. We have been able to demonstrate that it's not just a hope, that's
a reality."

Kenneth Titus, Durham chief District Court judge, expressed similar
frustration over possibly losing funding for the 3-year-old program there.

"We took one step forward. Now we have to take two steps back in addressing
the underlying issue and trying to prevent the repetitive nature of
criminal behavior. And it's a shame," Titus said.

Although Wake's program got off to a rocky start with almost half of its
first 25 graduates convicted of new crimes, officials say recidivism has
decreased significantly since 2000.

Durham's drug court had graduated five participants as of last September.

A recent study showed 21 percent of drug court graduates across the state
were re-arrested. By comparison, 45 percent of addicts who didn't go into
treatment programs were convicted of new crimes.

Without drug treatment courts, addicts will just fill the state's prisons,
said Randy Monchick, who oversees the programs statewide.

It costs about $2,500 to treat a drug court participant each year, compared
with $23,000 to keep someone in jail for a year, Monchick said. "You're
going to have a revolving door of addicts, just like we had in the past,"
he said.