DRUG COURT

It can cut crime, save money and rebuild lives

THE CREATION of a full-time drug court in Shelby County offers the credible
promise of reducing crime, saving taxpayers a lot of money, and helping
people who are addicted to narcotics and alcohol straighten out their
lives. It places the emphasis in responding to nonviolent, drug-related
crime where it belongs: on tough, court-supervised treatment and
rehabilitation rather than punishment that too often is ineffective.

Dist. Atty. Gen. Bill Gibbons estimates that more than 70 percent of the
100,000 people who are arrested in Shelby County each year abuse drugs or
alcohol. One fifth of all local arrests are directly related to drugs.

The large number of offenders who steal to support their habits contributes
to a burglary rate in Memphis that is among the nation's highest. More than
1,000 people were charged in Shelby County last year with driving under the
influence for at least the second time.

Because cell space is scarce, many of these criminals - even repeat
offenders - get brief sentences or probation, and then quickly revert to
their old ways, afflicting the community. As similar programs have done
elsewhere over the past decade, Shelby County's drug court - authorized by
the General Assembly and established by the County Commission - aims to
break this cycle.

The court's treatment program is open to nonviolent offenders who volunteer
for it; those who refuse risk stiff sentences. General Sessions Criminal
Court Judge Tim Dwyer, who presides over the drug court and supervises its
defendants, decides who gets into the program.

Defendants plead guilty to a misdemeanor and agree to a rigorous mandatory
program of substance abuse counseling, professional treatment, education,
random testing and court monitoring. Those who complete the program
successfully get their cases dismissed and their records cleared.

A University of Memphis study of the county's part-time drug court, which
began as an experiment in 1997, found that nearly three out of every four
of its 139 participants had been charged with felonies. Yet only 13 percent
were re-arrested within a year of graduating from the program.

Similar nationwide analyses conclude that offenders who refuse to take part
in drug court treatment programs are three times as likely to be arrested
for new drug crimes or felonies as those who do, and four times as likely
to violate probation or parole. By contrast, as many as 95 percent of drug
court participants - even those who don't complete the program - are not
arrested again.

At the same time, the criminal justice system realizes sizable savings in
such things as jail, court and probation costs and police overtime -
expenses that are much greater than the cost of drug treatment.

The decision by Memphis Mayor Willie Herenton and Police Director Walter
Crews to contribute $250,000 to the drug court's treatment program from
Police Department drug forfeiture funds is a valuable investment. Federal
aid administered by the county will match that amount. Surely this is a
better application of forfeiture money than many of the flagrant abuses of
the drug fund reported in recent years.

DRUG AND alcohol abuse destroys lives and families and devastates
neighborhoods. Shelby County's drug court, like those in similar
communities across the country, can help turn career criminals into
productive citizens with jobs and families. The benefits, both economic and
social, are obvious.