DO DRUG COURTS MAKE SENSE?

A recent article by Journal Sentinel reporter Megan Twohey noted that
Racine County circuit judges are moving - albeit with some reservations -
toward creating the first drug treatment court in southeastern Wisconsin.
The reservations are appropriate - the concept deserves thorough study and
debate - but the important thing is that the judges are moving in the right
direction.

Courts set aside to deal specifically with drug offenses reportedly have
proved successful in Dane County and elsewhere. The way it works in Dane
County is that the district attorney's office refers adults charged with
minor drug offenses to the drug treatment court, which could order them to
spend an average of nine months undergoing treatment and monitoring by
court officials. Offenders who successfully complete treatment and
consistently test negative for drugs are released from the court system.
The record of their crime is expunged. Those who fail the program are sent
to jail.

Such attention is not without cost. Racine County judges say they worry
about the expense of running such a program and whether the county's Human
Services Department has the capacity to absorb clients referred from a drug
treatment system. Such a system also would require a judge willing to take
on the additional responsibilities that come with a drug court.

Those are certainly legitimate concerns that need to be addressed before a
drug treatment court can be created. But non-violent drug offenders make up
a significant and increasing percentage of the population in jails across
the region - indeed, the country. Taxpayers foot the bill for that increase
in the form of higher costs for corrections personnel and facilities.
Racine County is only one of several in the area proposing to expand jail
facilities at no small cost to taxpayers.

If a drug treatment court can reduce the pressures of jail crowding, there
could be corresponding savings for taxpayers. And if the court can provide
more effective treatment for non-violent drug offenders and get them off
drugs permanently, the result could be healthier and more productive lives.

By moving forward with the idea, Racine County judges are looking forward
in the best Wisconsin tradition. Judges in the rest of southeastern
Wisconsin might want to consider following that lead.