WAR ON DRUGS TO EMPLOY COURTROOM TACTICS

Hernando Officials Want To Set Up A New Drug Court To Help Treat And
Monitor Addicts And Halt The Cycle Of Substance Abuse And Crime.

Sometimes the court system can seem like a revolving door.

People are arrested, convicted, serve their time and -- after the system
spits them back out they reoffend and do it all over again.

Often, drugs are the culprit, officials say. Which is why Hernando County
authorities are working to establish a new type of court that will help
treat and monitor addicts in the hope that the cycle of substance abuse and
crime will end.

"It's really exciting," said Clerk of the Court Karen Nicolai. "The whole
court changes. Instead of, "You've done bad and we're going to throw you in
jail,' it becomes, "You need to change' ... and everyone in the court
system becomes an advocate."

Hernando County's future drug court is still a ways from starting.
Officials want to begin holding the specialized court between six months
and a year from now, and are currently wrestling with funding issues. But
already, various members of the legal, medical and law enforcement
community are expressing hope.

The court would work like this:

A select group of offenders who want to stop abusing drugs and alcohol
would be tapped for the program. (Accused drug dealers and violent
criminals would be generally excluded from eligibility). Then, instead of
going to jail for their offenses, the "clients" would agree to treatment
and strict monitoring. They would be required to go to counseling, submit
to weekly and random drug screening and appear in court once a week to
report on their progress. This process would go on for at least one year,
with certain requirements lessening with time.

Circuit Judge Richard Tombrink, who already presides over a specialized
court for domestic violence offenders, will head the drug court.

"Nationwide, drug courts have a tremendous success rate," Tombrink said.
"We have the carrot and the stick. The carrot is, we're going to try to
help (people) if they want help. The stick is, if you mess up, you go back
for prosecution or sentencing. Jail."

The system works, statistics show. In a recent study of drug courts in
Escambia and Okaloosa counties, graduates were significantly less likely to
be re-arrested as non-participants and were twice as likely to be employed
at the time of discharge. Specifically, 48 percent of Escambia's graduates
were re-arrested within 30 months of completing the program, versus 86
percent of non-graduates. Twenty-six percent of Okaloosa's graduates were
arrested, compared to 63 percent of non-graduates, according to the Florida
Alcohol and Drug Abuse Association.

A key factor in keeping recidivism down is continual followup, said Sharon
Rose, a division manager of the Harbor Behavioral Health Care Institute.
Rose said that her agency often sees people who will not admit they have a
problem or, after they admit their addiction, fall back into old patterns.
Drug court would help prevent that, she said.

"It really is hard in substance abuse treatment to get that follow through,
but the court forces it. And if they don't follow through, there are
consequences," Rose said. "It won't be easy. This is going to be a tough
program. But it will give people a chance to avoid a criminal record and to
get sober. It's a double win."

A recent study shows substance abuse begins early for many Hernando
residents. A tenth of all middle school students went to school drunk or
high during the past school year, and a third of high school students have
tried an illicit drug other than marijuana, according to the study, done by
the state Department of Children and Families. The study also shows
Hernando teens use alcohol, drugs and tobacco at a rate higher than the
state average.

Because drug courts have been so successful, they are proliferating
nationwide. The first court was established in Miami-Dade County in 1989.
Today there are more than 800 similar programs throughout the United
States, Tombrink said. Hillsborough County established such a court in 1992
and four years later, started the state's first drug court for juvenile
offenders. Citrus County began holding drug court in June.

Not only does research show drug courts help people get off drugs, it also
shows that they save money.

Osborne James, who oversees Marion County's drug court, said the program
has saved his county more than $2-million since its inception by treating
people, instead of throwing them in jail and spending $24,000 a year per
person to feed and house them.

And that does not include the money saved if the person stays off drugs and
never has to be arrested again. Nor does that take into account lower crime
rates and the creation of parents who are better fit to raise their children.

All this, for $50,000 to 60,000 in administrative costs a year, Nicolai
estimated.

Sheriff Richard Nugent said drug court will help the entire community, not
just addicts.

"From a sheriff's standpoint, if we can knock down the demand side for
drugs, it helps us (chip away at) the supply side," he said. "And it saves
taxpayers money in the long run."