DRUG COURT PROGRAM TO BEGIN IN 2004

FLORENCE - Despite an already ample supply of duties, Lauderdale
County Community Corrections is ready to take on even more
responsibilities.

Beginning in February, nonviolent offenders will be given the option
of asking that their cases be heard in the county's new drug court.

Community Corrections Director Elizabeth Berry said a drug court will
save the county money and offer the court system an alternative to
sending drug offenders to jail or prison.

"We are starting a pilot program," Berry said. "The capacity of that
pilot program is going to be a maximum of 15. We're starting out real
small to work all the kinks out. It is a huge privilege to be in drug
court."

While it is called a drug court, the program could accept persons
charged with theft if the theft was motivated by drug addiction.

An individual accepted into drug court will have to be prepared for
intense supervision and treatment.

It could involve in-house or outpatient treatment, sessions with the
court referral officer, drug testing or "whatever the treatment
provider states is necessary."

Berry said Florence Police Chief Rick Singleton has offered to allow
officers to conduct visits at the offenders' homes to make sure
they're living in a drug-free environment.

"The pilot program is just for the city of Florence," Berry
said.

Berry said she will apply for a $500,000 federal grant that will help
sustain the program and allow it to expand into the county.

Community Corrections employees and others who will be involved in the
drug court program have recently completed a third training session
that will help them manage the new program.

While the training is not required, Berry said it "substantially
increases the changes of getting a grant."

Community Corrections is working on getting procedures in place for
the target date.

Berry said the program is going to be run with existing community
corrections staff.

"We can't afford to hire anyone right now," she said. "Right now, our
office will be absorbing that caseload."

Lauderdale County District Attorney Billy Jackson said he supports the
drug court concept.

"If you look at all the crimes committed in Lauderdale County, there's
probably going to be 90 percent that involve drugs in some form or
fashion," Jackson said.

Getting people off drugs will solve half their problems, he
said.

While drug court gives offenders a chance, those who fail to graduate
from the program will receive whatever punishment is associated with
their crime.

Florence lawyer Ralph Holt agrees that drug courts are a good idea "if
they're administered properly."

He said drug courts give uniformity to the way drug cases are
handled.

"In a drug court situation, everyone similarly situated is treated the
same," Holt said.

He suggested that deferred prosecution also be used as another
alternative.

Berry said that the court system will offer another option to those
who are arrested for minor offenses but cannot afford to post bond.

Those individuals, if they qualify, can be placed in the county's work
release center rather than the detention center while their case moves
through the system.