TORY TOUTS JAIL PROGRAM

Sees Success In U.S. Treatment Of Drug Addicts

Manitoba's justice critic thinks a groundbreaking new approach to
incarceration might help reduce crime in the province.

Kelvin Goertzen, the Tory justice critic, visited the Sheridan
Correctional Center in Illinois in late July, and thinks the
philosophy being used at the drug treatment prison might help crime rates here.

"One of the main root causes of crime here in Manitoba is drug
addiction," said Goertzen. "Everyone in Sheridan was a drug addict.
Either they did a crime on drugs or to get money for drugs.

"Prisoners there spend half their day in intensive drug rehab
sessions. It's a therapeutic community where everybody is dealing
with the same thing. They become their own support group."

HIGH RECIDIVISM

Deanne Benos, assistant director with the Illinois Department of
Corrections, said Sheridan was developed in 2003 to reduce high
recidivism rates in the state.

Inmates volunteer to join the program, which features intensive
addictions treatment, job training courtesy of trade unions, and
post-release support to help with re-integration to the community.

"Every single day that an inmate spends at Sheridan is spent
preparing them to return home as a crime-free, drug-free citizen with
an honest job," said Benos. "Programs like this aren't necessarily
soft on crime, they're smart on crime.

"We've had some early but promising success. We're finding the rate
of re-incarceration is 30% to 40% lower for Sheridan participants."

Goertzen said he's interested in bringing those kinds of results to Manitoba.

A spokesman for Justice Minister Dave Chomiak said the province will
certainly take a look at whatever information Goertzen provides, but
noted there may be some problems importing the model to Canada.

Illinois, for example, has about 44,000 inmates in its state system.
Manitoba has about 500 in its provincial system.

Manitoba also has the Winnipeg Drug Treatment Court, a
federal/provincial partnership that started in January 2006 for
essentially the same purpose as Sheridan.

As one of six across the country, the court is designed as an
alternative to custody for drug addicts who express a genuine desire
to change. Participants are given strict conditions and are subject
to intensive supervision after pleading guilty. If they complete the
program successfully, they don't have to serve jail time.

Although provincial prisons here don't offer drug programming as
intensive as at Sheridan, addictions programming is a core element of
rehabilitation plans at provincial facilities.

Volunteers also bring Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous
programs into jail.