DRUG COURT EXPANSION SMART

You look at some of the people arrested for relatively minor
non-violent crimes tied to drugs and drinking and wonder, why can't
they straighten up and fly right? A program to try to help them do
exactly that has just been introduced in Saratoga County.

The successful Drug Treatment Court that has handled felony cases in
Saratoga County since 2003 has been expanded to include people accused
of certain misdemeanors.

The program is aimed at rehabilitating primarily young adults with
drug or alcohol addictions, with a goal toward getting them on a
productive track.

This is not criminal coddling. People charged with the commission of
violent crimes, sex offenses or selling drugs are ineligible. The
program doesn't get anyone off the hook; it simply gives them an
alternative to jail if they're willing to work at helping themselves.
It is a prevention-oriented approach toward making the community safer.

The defendants are still accountable for their actions. They must be
involved in drug or alcohol treatment, report weekly to the county
judge and be supervised by the probation department. Weekly monitoring
is built in. If they stay clean and continue to show progress, they
can stay out of jail.

'By concentrating and devoting judicial resources to defendants
charged with misdemeanors, we hope to provide participants the tools
to address their addictive behavior and to end their destructive
decisions earlier in their involvement with the criminal justice
system,' explained District Attorney James A. Murphy III.

Data nationwide indicate that incidents of re-arrests are
significantly lower for defendants who have successfully gone through
a drug court than for those just sent to jail.

For some defendants, going through drug court is harder than going to
jail, where you just wait out your time. Drug court offers a second
chance for a defendant to get his or her act together. Expanding the
program to misdemeanor offenders is a terrific move for Saratoga County.