NOW IS A GOOD TIME TO DECIDE HOW TO HANDLE CRIME

If the burgeoning case load weighing down prosecutors, defense
attorneys and judges in the 6th Judicial District is any indication,
the scales of justice may be tipping the wrong way.

The number of criminal cases tried in Bannock County rose from 658 in
1990 to 1,034 in 1999 - more than a 60 percent increase.

At the same time, the budget for the Bannock County Prosecutor's
Office went from $477,449 in fiscal 1991 to $798,266 in fiscal 2000
for an equivalent increase. But the budget for the Bannock County
Public Defender's Office, created in fiscal 1996, went from $524,028
that fiscal year to only $594,301 in fiscal 2000.

Suzanne Johnson, 6th District trial court administrator, says the case
load for public defenders has doubled in recent years, based on cases
assigned to particular judges. Defendants are assigned public
defenders when they can't afford their own legal counsel.

"It's hard to tell whether there are more cases or it's a situation
with people's personal lives. It's all bound by finances," Johnson
says, noting not everyone assigned a public defender is indigent. If
defendants can afford it, they are put on a payment plan to reimburse
the county for the use of public defenders.

Johnson estimates that misdemeanors went up by 1,000 cases from 1998
to 1999. Drug cases went up by about 20 during that period, but there
was a slight decline in felony DUIs.

Another point to consider: while the case load hasn't gone up
substantially, the types of crimes prosecuted have changed, taxing the
time of the legal system, especially of public defenders. Cases are
more complex because of increased laws, sentencing requirements and
follow-up. "We're just seeing a different type of crime pattern that
uses the system more," Johnson says.

Drug and DUI cases are the most difficult because they require
"heavy-duty treatment" for suspects to get out of the system.
Legislative and county programs have helped reverse an increase in
juvenile crimes, but they're still high, Johnson says.

She cites the types of cases that involve most of the resources of the
courts, prosecutors and defenders. The following is how the case loads
of various crimes changed from 1991 to 2000. Cases as of April 30 were
projected to the end of 2000:

6th District: Drug felonies, 70 to 339; DUI felonies, 98 to 75; Drug
misdemeanors, 72 to 756; DUI misdemeanors, 1,540 to 1,305, and Youth
Rehabilitation Act cases, 1,149 to 1,896.

Bannock County: Drug felonies, 62 to 246; DUI felonies, 91 to 75; drug
misdemeanors, 60 to 522; DUI misdemeanors, 1,259 to 1,020, and Bannock
Youth Rehabilitation Act cases, 842 to 1,389.

Johnson suggests four possible ways to relieve the burden: Provide
more money for inpatient and outpatient treatment centers, possibly
using tobacco settlement money.

Implement a drug court for defendants convicted of drug and alcohol
crimes, routing them immediately to treatment to short-circuit the
cycle. Hire more personnel to lighten the case load.

Help young people make positive life choices, including identifying
those at risk.

As the Pocatello area grows, crime also will increase with the
population. The case load inevitably also will get heavier. All four
of the possible solutions warrant consideration.