DRUG OFFENDER OPTION RAPPED

Grand Jury: Prop. 36 Plan Isn't Working

One out of three non-violent drug offenders never show up for court-ordered
treatment appointments in San Mateo County, and only about 25 percent of
the offenders finish their treatment programs.

That's according to a grand jury report issued Monday that concludes
Proposition 36 has failed to reduce crime in San Mateo County or to
consistently keep people off drugs.

The 2000 voter-approved measure that places non-violent drug offenders into
treatment instead of jail has not served the county well, despite its
well-intentioned, reformist aims, the report stated.

The problem is that Proposition 36 doesn't require enough accountability,
the grand jury wrote. There isn't an incentive, such as avoiding jail, to
motivate drug offenders to stick with treatment, and relapses aren't
punished in a useful way, the report states.

San Mateo County's civil grand jury is not the first group to question the
measure, also known as the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act. In
November, a University of California-Los Angeles study found that 31
percent of offenders treated under the measure were re-arrested, compared
with an 18 percent rate for other diversion programs.

A state Senate bill -- SB 803, by Sen. Denise Moreno Ducheny, D-Chula Vista
- -- is also in the works to revise the proposition, creating a short-term
jail option for certain offenders who relapse, and limiting who is eligible
for treatment under Proposition 36.

Opponents of the bill say jailing addicts runs contrary to the voters'
desire when they passed Proposition 36. They argue that compared with the
costs of jailing people, the measure's $120 million annual price tag saves
money over the cost of locking up non-violent drug users in the state's
overcrowded prisons.

Under Proposition 36, people arrested for non-violent drug offenses in San
Mateo County are evaluated and directed to 90 days of either outpatient,
day/evening or residential drug treatment. During that time, the individual
is supervised by the county's probation department, according to the grand
jury report.

But probation workers told the grand jury that a third of offenders
assigned to Proposition 36 treatment don't even show up, and many of those
who successfully complete their treatment resume using drugs afterward,
although the report doesn't provide specifics.

Proposition 36 candidates can fail to report for treatment three times
before a judge can incarcerate them. Under the bill's current language, a
judge could jail participants at his or her discretion "in order to enhance
treatment compliance" and for detoxification purposes.

Health Committee. July 1 is Proposition 36's five-year anniversary.