DRUG COURT IS WORTH COUNTY'S INVESTMENT

Allen County officials should view the Superior Court's drug court program
as a long-term investment, one that pays rewarding dividends now and will
achieve greater savings in the future.

County Council members should make the continuation of the drug court a top
priority when they begin hearings later this summer on the 2001 county
budget. Allen Superior Court Chief Judge Kenneth Scheibenberger plans to
request $150,000 to $250,000 - depending on federal and state grants - to
finance the court.

Scheibenberger is right to propose that the money come not from taxpayers
but from people convicted of drunken driving and other alcohol-related
offenses who already pay fees into the Alcohol Countermea-sures Program.

The War on Drugs has cost the nation billions of dollars, filled prisons
and clogged the courts. If the nation is ever to dramatically reduce the
flow of drugs, programs such as the drug court - meant to end demand for
illegal drugs one user at a time - are a big part of the answer.

The program is for people charged with drug possession. Participants must
complete a year-long or 18-month program, which includes random drug tests
and substance abuse counseling. Participants must remain employed and meet
with the judge regularly. Those who owe child support must remain current
on their payments.

Charges against the graduates are dismissed if they are not arrested on a
drug or violent crime within six months.

The results so far - the program began in 1997 - are hopeful. Of about 225
people initially accepted, 73 have graduated and more than 100 remain
active. Of the 73 graduates, only three have been arrested again for drug
crimes.

The program frees much needed jail space and saves the cost of feeding and
housing inmates. Each drug court graduate represents one less criminal
defendant who takes up the time of a deputy prosecutor and probation officer.

Each graduate who successfully ends drug use marks one less customer for
dealers; one less person who will draw friends or family into drug use; one
less person who commits crimes to finance a habit.

The program was initially funded with a federal grant, which expires Sept. 30.

The program, with four employees, now costs about $250,000 a year to run.
With more money, it could expand to include repeat misdemeanor drunken
drivers or repeat offenders of other misdemeanor laws who have drug problems.

Scheibenberger hopes to receive additional grant money. But Allen County
should do its share and approve the judge's request in August after he
knows whether the program received other grants.

The investment will pay off almost immediately and continue to pay in the
future.