DRUG REHAB ADVOCATE

Drug rehab advocate Magistrate Jack Guedalia, as the man in charge at
most of Charleston County's weekday bail hearings, has a front-row
seat to a relentless parade of criminal suspects. And his long
experience in that job has convinced him that raising lawbreakers'
access to effective drug rehabilitation would lower the rate of
criminal recidivism.

Though some law-abiding residents understandably
resent the notion of spending tax dollars on substance-abuse treatment
for criminals, those who see the justice system at work - for
instance, Judge Guedalia - realize that without such programs, more
tax dollars must be spent to house prison convicts who are highly
unlikely to beat their criminal habits without first beating their
drug habits. As Judge Guedalia recently told Post and Courier reporter
Edward Fennell, regarding many suspects: "Removing them from the drug
culture will certainly result in less crime."

Judge Guedalia also said that an annual report by the Charleston County
Central Bond Court
delivers troubling indications of a 2001 surge in the "deadly crimes,"
which jumped 84 percent over 2000. The judge pointed out that
Charleston County and South Carolina, despite annual variations,
maintain a very high violent crime rate. He added that while his court
hasn't tracked the ages of defendants, they appear to be getting
younger. These are not welcome trends.

But Judge Guedalia's observation that more drug-rehabilitation
programs now can mean fewer murders, armed robberies and assaults
later is welcome advice from a man who has seen ample evidence of the
cause-and-effect relationship between drugs and crime.