DRUG COURTS REDUCE CRIME AND SAVE MONEY, STUDY SAYS

WASHINGTON - Programs that force nonviolent drug abusers into
rehabilitation instead of prison help them kick the habit while saving
taxpayers' money, a bipartisan group of health experts said today.

The Physician Leadership on National Drug Policy released findings
from a study on so-called drug courts - programs allowing nonviolent
offenders to undergo treatment rather than serve time - that shows
reduced drug abuse and re-arrest rates among enrolled defendants.

Coerced rehabilitation offers a much-needed alternative to punishment
alone, concluded the group of prominent physicians and public-health
leaders from the Clinton, Bush and Reagan administrations.

The research comes as the White House's drug-policy office seeks to
triple the number of drug courts, which now total about 300
nationwide, by 2000. With $30 million set aside for drug-court grants
in 1998, the Office of National Drug Control Policy believes it can
cut the prison population by a quarter of a million in the next five
years through continued expansion of the program.

"The data is persuasive," said Dr. David Lewis, director of the Center
for Alcohol and Addiction Studies at Brown University and project
director for the physicians' group. "You can get a lot out of
treatment, and it's quite cost-effective."

Based on the discretion of law-enforcement officials or judges,
offenders who commit nonviolent crimes are eligible for hearings at a
designated drug court rather than a regular court. A drug-court judge
then orders the defendant to enter a rehabilitation program, and the
court monitors for compliance through routine drug testing. Defendants
who fail a drug test or to show up for treatment can end up serving
real time.

The study, conducted by the National Center on Addiction and Substance
Abuse at Columbia University, was one of five reports released today
on rehabilitation and the criminal-justice system.

The study found that drug courts succeeded in reducing drug use among
those in the program. One survey found 10 percent of urine tests for
those enrolled in drug courts turned up positive, compared with 31
percent for defendants just under supervised probation.

The study also found criminal behavior substantially lower during
treatment: Only 4 percent of participants in the Delaware drug-court
program were re-arrested.

The first drug court began operating in Dade County, Fla., in 1989,
where an early champion was then-chief prosecutor Janet Reno. Her
vocal support as attorney general and the 1994 Violent Crime Act,
which calls for federal support for drug courts, has aided the
program's growth.

Scientists and some policy-makers also believe rehabilitation will
alleviate overcrowding in prisons.

James McDonough, chief strategist at the national drug-control office,
says the goal is to break "the cycle of addiction, crime, prison,"
while reducing costs. Incarcerating an offender costs about $25,000 a
year, while treatment costs less than $3,000.

The drug-court approach could be a hard sell to a "get tough on crime"
public and to congressional Republicans who have pushed for spending
on drug enforcement rather than on treatment.

Checked-by: Rich O'Grady