New Ways Can Work

SUPPORT SEATTLE'S ALTERNATIVES TO THE WAR ON DRUGS

The nation's "drug czar" is calling for an end to the "war on drugs,"
and a U.S. Senator has introduced a bill in Congress to study the
relationship between our failed drug policies and disastrous
incarceration rates. Here in Seattle, City Council staff have released
a report addressing whether jail use could be reduced by adopting a
more treatment-focused approach to lower-level drug offenses, and
whether such reductions could avoid the need to build a new jail. Drug
arrests are an important consideration, as 20 percent of King County
Jail inmates have a drug offense listed as their most serious charge.

The report concludes that new strategies focused on lower-level drug
offenders could not impact jail use enough to delay planning for a new
municipal jail. The report acknowledges, though, that the jail
population projections on which its conclusions are based "are not
immutable," that the county's projection in particular "seems high on
its face," and that both county and city projections should continue
to be tested and updated.

Seattle should challenge these conclusions. They are based on a
definition of "lower-level" that is more conservative than eligibility
criteria already employed by King County's drug court. They also
reflect the application of performance measures used in existing,
court-based strategies that might not be applicable to new strategies.

Despite these flaws, the report represents an important step forward
in identifying issues that require more attention for decision-making
on jail capacity. Moreover, it validates the city's focus on
alternatives to arresting, prosecuting and jailing lower-level drug
offenders.

Indeed, Seattle has been a leader in developing new approaches to
problematic drug use. The city is trying several approaches. In 2006,
it launched two pre-arrest, community intervention programs in Rainier
Beach (Clean Dreams, now Communities Uniting Rainier Beach, or CURB)
and the Central Area (Get Off the Streets, or GOTS). A preliminary
evaluation of Clean Dreams demonstrated promising results in terms of
recidivism rates, housing status, employment and community perception
of public safety and quality of life. These results came at an average
cost of $8,444 per client, compared to $60,000 per traditional case
processing of a felony drug charge in superior court. A
city-commissioned evaluation of the CURB and GOTS programs is due in
October.

In August, the city launched a pre-booking diversion program, the Drug
Market Initiative (DMI), targeting the 23rd Avenue corridor.
"Pre-booking diversion" is like drug court in that suspected drug
offenders are offered the opportunity to choose getting involved with
services over spending time behind bars. Unlike drug court,
pre-booking diversion avoids the costs of filing charges and
processing cases through the judicial system. Instead, eligible
candidates are offered a chance to be referred for assessment and
services when they have contact with law enforcement officers who have
probable cause for an arrest.

The DMI involves intensive law enforcement investigation and case
preparation by prosecutors. The candidates are "called in" to a
community forum, confronted with the evidence against them, and given
the opportunity to avail themselves of services. No one is arrested,
and no charges are filed, if the candidates stop dealing drugs.

A different model of pre-booking diversion is reflected in two funding
proposals pending with King County: one targeting the Belltown neighborhood
of downtown Seattle, the other the Skyway community of unincorporated King
County. These would use standardized criteria that allow an officer in the
field to offer diversion on a case-by-case basis rather than requiring
intensive investigation and the involvement of prosecutors in each
individual decision. This approach limits the program to low-level drug
offenders rather than the mid-level offenders - "key" or "major players" -
that DMI's heavier law enforcement involvement can accommodate. A benefit is
the ability to offer services to more candidates. The pool of eligible
offenders - chronic users, "clucks," and low-level (1-2 grams per
transaction) street dealers - is much larger than the 16 DMI candidates
"called in" last month.

As Councilmember Tim Burgess rightly stated on the release of the jail
capacity study, "alternatives to jail and even pre-arrest diversion
programs should be continued and expanded, as Seattle has effectively
done in recent years." While creating these programs requires upfront
investment in services, in the long run these programs pay for
themselves through savings of taxpayer dollars currently wasted on
cycling drug users through our courts, jails and emergency rooms.

The jail capacity study will be presented to the city's Public Safety,
Human Services & Education Committee on September 15. The public is
encouraged to attend; time will be allowed for comment. If you agree
that we need more effective and fairer responses to substance abuse,
please show your support for continuing and expanding alternative
strategies. Seattle cannot afford to let this opportunity pass by.