COURT DRUG PROGRAM TOUGH ON OFFENDERS

MIAMI, Okla. -- A program that has been termed the "court of last resort"
for repeat drug offenders has been set up in Ottawa and Delaware counties.

The first 10 people, selected by a committee of prosecutors, law enforcers,
social workers and judicial personnel, are accepting sentencing to the
program on a voluntary basis.

"They will either make progress in this program or they will go to jail, or
prison. This is the last chance for them," District Attorney Eddie Wyant
said in a prepared statement earlier this week.

In September, Wyant obtained a $100,000 grant from the Oklahoma Department
of Mental Health to start the program in the two counties of his district.
He also is seeking federal money for the court.

Now active in 36 of Oklahoma's 77 counties, the Drug Court program targets
non-violent, repeat drug offenders who volunteer to take part and agree to
terms of the plan.

They also receive prison or jail sentences for their drug-related offenses
that are deferred pending successful completion of the program. The
sentences may be accelerated without further court hearings if they fail
the last-chance program.

The program requires them to report, in some instances daily, to a Drug
Court supervisor. Former Grove police officer Mike Huggins has been
selected as supervisor.

They must submit to random searches of their homes, cars and undergo a
urinalysis. They must also seek inpatient substance abuse treatment and
participate in aftercare treatment programs. Participants must also get and
keep jobs.

Kenny Wright, a local defense attorney contracting with the Oklahoma
Indigent Defense System as a public defender, has said the Drug Court
program is designed to rehabilitate habitual users.

"(The program) offers treatment rather than prison for repeat offenders and
that is what many of them need. It is a positive rather than a negative
step in their lives," Wright said.

Special Judge Alicia Littlefield said she has seen the Drug Court program
operate successfully in other districts and feels it is a "step into
reality" for the judicial system.

"Warehousing these people in prison cells doesn't keep them from going back
to the same self-destructive lifestyle when they get out. At least this
offers them a way to turn their lives around and start in a new direction,"
Littlefield said.

Jo Ann Bronstad, coordinator of the statewide Drug Court program, said at
that time the grant was awarded that the program's "graduates" show a lower
rearrest rate than that for habitual offenders who do not participate.

Statewide 17.4 percent of those on traditional probation commit new
offenses in the first year after receiving a suspended or deferred
sentence. Only 6.9 percent of Drug Court graduates are rearrested for new
crimes in the first year after completing the court program.

The success ratio drops somewhat after 60 months, with 22.8 percent of
court participants having new arrests, compared to 38.1 percent of
traditional parolees. The program has been in effect in the state since 1998.