COUNTY OFFICIALS PREPARE FOR START OF DRUG COURT

A new program designed to give offenders time to straighten out their
lives and get away from addiction is set to kick off, according to
Associate District Judge Curtis DeLapp.

"We've got funding and are anticipating starting hearings in the near
future," DeLapp said of the new Drug Court. "We have people already
set that want to be in the program."

DeLapp had proposed the new system during his campaign for associate
district judge last year.

Eligible participants in the Drug Court programs include non-violent
offenders, and consist primarily of persons charged with drug
possession, DeLapp said. Participants may include offenders with prior
convictions. Programs for juveniles are available as well, he said.

The success of drug and DUI court (which address alcohol related
crimes) programs is "almost double" that of more traditional
sentencing, DeLapp said.

"(Studies show that) 36 months after entry into the program, the
re-arrest numbers for court graduates was 18.9 percent," he said.
"That number compares to judicial probation offenders of 35.1
percent," DeLapp said. "That's a huge difference. It's almost double."

According to DeLapp, after a person is arrested they may be referred
to the program if they are eligible.

"They have to fill out an application," he said, "and the District
Attorney's office can say yes or no."

DeLapp said that at that point, there will be a hearing to determine
whether or not the applicant fits the criteria.

"If they want in to the program they will then sign a waiver of
preliminary hearing, and their right to a speedy trial," he said.
"They then enter a guilty plea to their charges with a plea agreement."

The defendant then enters the program, and with the plea agreement in
place, they will know that if they fail they will revert back to the
plea agreement and will most likely go to jail, DeLapp said.

"You either complete the program and get a benefit or you fail and go
to jail - no questions asked," he said.

"The whole idea of the Drug Court is to get these people off the drugs
and become responsible citizens," he said, adding that in some
instances the program will require participants to take classes toward
getting their GED.

"We hope to contact businesses or the chamber of commerce to place
them in jobs," DeLapp said. "I think an employer would feel more
confident if a judge told them what was going on."

DeLapp says he is realistic enough to know that the program is not
going to work all the time.

"We will have supervising officers to make sure they are working where
they are saying and living where they are saying," he said. "We will
require them to have drug tests as well."

If the provisions are not followed, DeLapp said sanctions can be
imposed if there are problems or, he said, "if they are messing up we
can put them in jail."

"The problem is that people are ending up getting out of jail with no
treatment and many of them end up right back in the courtroom," DeLapp
said.

According to DeLapp, the average cost of incarcerating a woman for one
year is $19,847 while the average cost of incarcerating a man is
$17,988. The higher cost for females is attributed to childbirth
during incarceration.

The cost to taxpayers when using a drug court program is about
one-fourth the cost of traditional sentencing.

"Some will think that it's easy, and if they are not sure that they
want to make a change, they will probably fail."