The Big Deal - Part 2 Of 5

COSTS OF DRUG WAR SOAR

Beyond Enormous Sums Spent On Law Enforcement And Treatment, The Cost
Of Countering Illegal Drugs Translates Into Rising Social Services
And Education Budgets

With $20, Bill Scobell ended a drug habit that had cost him -- and
Monroe County taxpayers -- hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Five years ago, Scobell bought a tiny bag of crack cocaine from a
drughouse off Monroe Avenue in Rochester -- something he'd done
countless times.

This time, however, he was nabbed by a Rochester police officer,
charged with criminal possession of a controlled substance and
sentenced to Drug Treatment Court, an alternative to jail offered
through City Court.

Scobell had purposely gotten arrested so he could be placed in drug
court, he says. ''I'd lost everything in my life.''

Scobell, who had been in nine rehab programs, finally cleaned up his
act through the mandated treatment. He now lives near Dewey Avenue,
works as a cook and says he no longer uses illegal drugs or alcohol.

Scobell estimates he spent about $200,000 on illegal drugs -- heroin,
cocaine, ''anything I could get my hands on'' -- before he got clean.
Taxpayers probably spent tens of thousands of dollars to arrest and
rehabilitate him, experts said.

Multiply that by the 4,800 or so people arrested in Monroe County
each year on drug-related charges, and it's easier to understand the
skyrocketing cost of the war on drugs.

Studies have estimated that the federal government annually spends
around $19 billion directly to control drug use -- about two-thirds
on enforcement and one-third on treatment and prevention. But
drug-reform advocacy groups have placed the number at closer to $50
billion.

And state and local governments spend at least $20 billion, according
to estimates provided by the Office of National Drug Control Policy.

Law enforcement costs include those for police drug task forces,
laboratory work to test for drugs, courts, jail and prison,
probation, and parole. Billions more dollars are invested in drug
treatment, counseling and prevention.

The toll of illegal drugs goes beyond law enforcement and treatment
costs. Social service agencies say they see the impact in everything
from domestic violence to foster care to the need for special
educational services for children from homes where addiction is
pervasive.

Between 50 and 70 percent of the children placed by Catholic Family
Center in foster care come from homes with addicted parents, said
Karen Emerton, the center's director of children and family services.

Typically, it costs $17,000 a year for housing and services for a
foster child, Emerton said. ''But we don't have many typical kids.''
Foster children with special needs -- including those caused by
drug-addicted parents -- can cost up to $70,000 annually.

''Illegal drugs are at the crux of every criminal and societal
problem in this community, from homicides to burglaries to
prostitution to car break-ins to shootings,'' said Rochester Police
Chief Robert Duffy.

The astronomical costs have some law enforcers asking whether there
are better ways to spend the money than the endless cycle of arrests
and drug busts.

''We have violent people being let out of prison to make room for
nonviolent people who are in prison because they sell drugs,'' said
Greece Police Chief Merritt Rahn. ''We can spend money to arrest but
not to help people, to rehabilitate them, to educate... . We can't
afford to keep doing this.''

As long as drugs are illegal, police will continue to arrest people
for selling or using them.

''It's like writing traffic tickets,'' said Monroe County
Undersheriff Douglas Nordquist. ''Do we stop writing them because
everyone speeds, then allow it? We have to reinforce to the community
that there is somebody out there trying to take care of the problem.''

Hidden Costs

Two years ago, two men were arrested in Brighton for 70 car
break-ins, Brighton Police Chief Thomas Voelkl recalls. The men stole
goods from the cars and used the proceeds to fuel their cocaine
habits.

Although their crimes were drug-related, those men were charged with
petit larceny. Countless crimes are tied to illegal drugs but don't
show up that way on the books, police say.

On a typical day this spring, 228 of 1325 inmates at the Monroe
County Jail -- about 17 percent -- were there on drug charges. But
Robert Squires, the jail superintendent, estimated that 85 percent
were there for other crimes related to drugs.

The cost to house a prisoner for a day is $83, he said, and the
average inmate is there for 60 days. Using those figures, it costs
the county about $93,000 per day to house prisoners with drug-related
charges.

Those costs include job development, mental health services,
education, post-release programs and a substance abuse program that
treats 200 prisoners.

As of March 1, nearly 21,000 of the roughly 70,000 inmates in New
York state prisons were there for drug sales or possession. Those
figures have remained fairly constant for the past five years. About
two-thirds of state prisoners have been identified as substance
abusers, according to a 1999 study conducted by the Department of
Correctional Services.

In the past two decades, New York has seen a prison-building boom,
much of it driven by the incarceration of addicted criminals. Local
jails have followed suit. Monroe County is spending $50 million to
expand its jail. Ontario County has solidified plans for a $28.5
million facility in Hopewell. Livingston County is exploring a $10.5
million jail expansion.

Some activists claim that the illegal drug trade fuels a "prison
industrial complex'' that spurs prison construction and provides jobs
in rural areas in need of employment opportunities.

In turn, they say, lawmakers are reluctant to alter the
''enforcement-first'' strategy since that would mean fewer arrests
and fewer prisons -- and fewer jobs.

''Some politicians might think that's an easy way to bring jobs to
their community, but that attitude is going to catch up with them,''
said Mike Smithson, of Reconsider: Forum on Drug Policy, a
Syracuse-based group that advocates legalizing drugs. ''Politicians
still think that they've got widespread support in that regard, when
in reality, the support is crumbling around them.''

Attitudes are changing in some areas. Gov. George Pataki, for
instance, is pushing to loosen the ''Rockefeller drug laws'' --
strict, non-negotiable minimum prison sentences that were imposed 30
years ago by then-Gov. Nelson Rockefeller for relatively minor drug
offenses.

''There are more and more calls from mainstream political figures for
treatment either alongside hard-line law enforcement or in lieu of
it,'' said Robert Gangi, executive director of the Correctional
Association of New York, a watchdog group. ''I think for a long time
the public was ahead of politicians on this issue.''

Girding For Battle

Meanwhile, law enforcement continues to beef up its ranks to fight
drugs. The Drug Enforcement Agency's annual budget has increased
nearly five-fold in 15 years -- from $362 million in 1985 to $1.55
billion last year.

Locally, the budget for the Rochester Police Department's Special
Investigation Section has gone up 33 percent since 1997, from $3.07
million four years ago to $4.33 million this year.

Yet even that is not nearly enough, said Police Chief Duffy.

''I can add 200 more police officers to SIS (the Rochester drug
squad) tomorrow, we can churn out more warrants and make more
arrests,'' he said. ''We'll certainly impact the drug trafficking,
but we won't solve the problem.''

In fact, police say, because the supply of cocaine is increasing, a
kilo that cost $50,000 locally in 1984 now is obtained for $16,000.

''People look to me for the answer, but the nature of the problem is
so deep, so complex,'' said Duffy. ''We're dealing with the symptoms
but not getting to the real problem.''

Like many others involved in the war on drugs, he advocates a more
equal distribution of funds among law enforcement, treatment,
education and prevention.

But today, the lion's share goes to enforcement.

In January, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at
Columbia University released an exhaustive study of the impact of
substance abuse on state budgets. Three years in the making, the
study determined how much states spent on programs, such as criminal
justice services, that deal with the aftermath of addiction vs.
prevention and treatment.

''Each American paid $277 per year in state taxes to deal with the
burden of substance abuse and addiction in their social programs and
only $10 a year for prevention and treatment,'' the report concluded.

According to the Columbia study, for every $100 New York spends to
combat substance abuse, only $5.81 is earmarked for prevention and
treatment.

The state's Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse spends about $10
million a year in treatment and prevention programs in Monroe County.
But local officials say the state has not increased funding for
treatment programs, although the demand continues to increase.

''We're seeing an expansion in mental health (services),'' said
Stephen Dungan, Monroe County's mental health director. ''For
whatever reason, we haven't seen an expansion in substance abuse.
We've stayed flat.''

Treatment, if coordinated properly, can save tax dollars, Dungan
said. Monroe County, Unity Health System and local treatment
providers are participating in a program that provides case
management -- individual attention from counselors -- to adults with
severe substance abuse.

In the first six months of 1998, county officials estimate, nearly
$400,000 was saved based on fewer arrests and returns to treatment,
and less jail time for 28 adults. That was more than $14,000 savings
per adult for those six months alone.

Given the array of treatment providers and nonprofit operations
working with addicts, it's difficult to even estimate how much the
community spends on treatment. This much we know: Each year in Monroe
County alone, tens of millions of dollars are spent on direct
treatment.

For instance, Monroe County in 1999 allocated $20.2 million in
Medicaid fees for services for addicts. And that expense does not
include all of the Medicaid costs.

Here's another sobering thought: According to the Office of National
Drug Control Policy, every 10 minutes -- about the time required to
read this story -- the government spends about $365,000 in the war on
drugs.

About This Series

This is the second report in the Democrat and Chronicle's ongoing
investigation, ''The Big Deal: Illegal Drugs in the Rochester
Region," which continues through Thursday.

Next month, we will tell how a 19-year-old woman and a 46-year-old
basketball legend struggled with addiction.

In the following months, we will explore: the Rockefeller drug laws;
other communities' approaches to the drug wars; drug trafficking in
the inner city; drug use and the workplace; and drug treatment courts.

This project aims at exposing the local drug problem and stimulating
a community search for solutions.

To share ideas and information, contact Sebby Wilson Jacobson,
assistant managing editor for special projects:

Phone: 258-2233. Mail: Democrat and Chronicle, 55 Exchange Blvd.,
Rochester, NY 14614. Fax: 258-2237.
E-Mail:sjacobson@DemocratandChronicle.com.

To share your opinions, contact the Editorial Board:

Phone: 258-2510. Fax: 258-2356. E-Mail:dceditpage@DemocratandChronicle.com.

SIDEBAR: Seizing Dealers' Assets Helps Pay For War They Foment

Pinched Between Thumb And Forefinger Is A $50 Baggie Of Crack Cocain
That Had Been Purchased By An Informant In A Drug Investigation In
Ontario County (accompanied by picture)

Crime doesn't pay, the old saying goes. But drug-related crime
actually pays pretty well - against itself.

It paid for the $28 million State Police crime lab in Albany. It has
paid for surveillance and audio-visual equipment, bulletproof vests,
and other equipment for police agencies.

It has helped to pay for the war on drugs.

A federal policy called asset seizure allows the government to seize
the property of those who have committed an illegal act involving
that property. When legal title is permanently transferred to the
government, it's called asset forfeiture.

The controversial policy, instituted in 1978, plays a big part in
fighting illegal drugs. Successful prosecution of dealers can offset
some of the billions of dollars that law enforcement agencies spend
annually in combating illegal narcotics.

Several federal agencies - including postal, parks and customs -
seize drug-related assets. The Drug Enforcement Agency alone took in
$621 million in 1999, the most recent year reported.

That's still just a drop in the bucket compared with what the
government spends on enforcement. The DEA's budget, for instance, is
$1.55 billion this year. But every bit helps.

"One of the reasons we may have such a federal surplus is because of
the amounts we've seized in federal asset forfeiture," said Durie
Burns, special agent in charge of the Internal Revenue Service's
Buffalo field office of criminal investigation.

Authorities have seized and auctioned off cars, houses, boats, planes
and livestock. A large chunk of the proceeds fills the coffers of
police agencies, which use the cash to continue fighting the drug war.

Consider the amounts local police agencies seized last year:

- - The Rochester Police Department's drug squad seized close to
$700,000 in cash. - The Metro Rochester Narcotics Unit took in more
than $300,000. - The Multi-Agency Drug Task Force seized $1.5
million, its greatest amount since its inception in 1991. Seized
assets fund all of the task force's operations, except the officers'
salaries, which are paid by the participating police departments.

The tide may be turning, however. Congress has recently passed
legislation that would shift the burden of proof from the property
owner to the government.

The government would have to prove that property it seeks to seize is
linked to crime; in the past, the property owner had to prove the
property was not linked to crime.

Advocates of the new law said changes were needed to keep innocent
property owners from being abused. Police agencies have also been
guilty of internal abuse. Former Rochester Police Chief Gordon
Urlacher, for instance, was convicted in 1992 of embezzling money
seized in drug raids and earmarked for informants and drug buys.

But asset seizure will continue. It has another payoff for the
government, says U.S. Marshal John McCaffrey.

"Many times, forfeiture of money is half the punishment," said
McCaffrey, who oversees the western district of New York and whose
office distributes the seizure money. "This sends a message to the
community. With drug dealers' influence on the community -
particularly with younger kids seeing them making big money and
driving flashy cars - that's how you reverse the cycle."

Are Our Tax Dollars Well-Spent In Combating Illegal Drugs?

Here's how some local leaders responded:

"We can spend money to arrest but not to help people, to rehabilitate
them, to educate. We can't keep doing this. We can't afford to keep
doing this." Merritt Rahn, Greece police chief

"There should be more rehabilitation programs rather than have people
put on waiting lists. Maybe they could have a hotline to offer help,
as resource guide...The police are doing a good job, but all of us
could do a lot more. If it means a mother has to turn her son in
because he's selling, there should be more support in that area. It's
going to take each and every one of us. You get so tired of walking
behind the coffins of young people." Audrey Smith, Founder and
president of Families & Friends of Murdered Children and Victims of
Violence

"It's certainly an expensive proposition. But to do otherwise would
be much more devastating and expensive to our country." Pedro Perez,
State Police Colonel, assistant deputy superintendent for the Bureau
of Criminal Investigations

"There are many better ways to spend our money (than drug
enforcement), like giving out information about pre-natal care and
support for mothers and single parents. We could also look at giving
incentives to kids to stay in school." Clare Regan, Activist with
the Judicial Process Commission and with Reconsider: Forum on Drug
Policy