ALTERNATIVE SPENDING: STATE LEADS IN DRUG COURT DOLLARS

Being atop national rankings on corrections-related spending isn't
always a good thing. Oklahoma is well known for its tough-on-crime
attitude that lands plenty of people in prison.

But legislators' willingness to put more money into drug courts as an
alternative to imprisonment means Oklahoma will spend more per capita
this fiscal year than any other state on drug courts, according to a
new analysis from the Oklahoma Criminal Justice Resource Center.
Obviously it's not good that Oklahoma has so many people with drug
problems. It's positive, though, that there's even a slight shift in
the attitude that helping some defendants turn their lives around is
better than sending them off to prison for long stretches.

Lawmakers earmarked $8 million more to expand the drug court system
in the new fiscal year. That equates to a spending level of $3.27 per
capita for drug courts next year, above the second-ranked state of
New Jersey at $3.10. The new funding will allow the program to expand
at least 20 existing courts, create new ones and reach more than
3,000 new defendants.

It's enough that the specialized courts are helping drug-addicted
Oklahomans kick the habit and better their lives. The alternative is
that many of those convicted would languish in prison, further
exacerbating an already overstressed penal system while giving them
little to no help to keep them from becoming repeat offenders.

Besides changing lives, drug courts also are a worthy financial
investment. Drug court participants cost the state an average of
$5,000 per offender per year versus $16,842 for prison, state officials say.

It's clear Oklahoma has to do something to help an overburdened and
financially taxing corrections system. Putting money into alternative
programs like drug courts is one way to help, and state leaders are
to be commended for making such an important investment.