DRUG COURT: SUCCESS ELSEWHERE RAISES HOPE HERE

"I think it's great. I was involved in some of the original meetings.
I got some insight into other drug courts around the country." --
Daviess County Sheriff's Detective Sgt. Jim Acquisto on his county's
drug court program.

Sgt. Acquisto, described as a "tough cop," is among several in Daviess
County law enforcement who have been won over by its drug court
program. Here in Henderson County, some of the early skeptics have
also become converts, especially after becoming involved in a drug
court training program that is preparing a team to implement a similar
program locally. The concept behind drug court is that it gives those
charged with certain non-violent, drug-related crimes the opportunity
to become drug free, productive members of society instead of being
sentenced to jail or prison.

As The Gleaner's two-day series on the Daviess County program by
reporter Beth Smith illustrated, drug court is anything but a soft way
out for drug offenders. It is an intensive program that is strongly
monitored.

"This isn't a quick fix," Daviess County Circuit Judge Thomas Castlen
explained. "We work on every issue in their life."

Testimonials from some of the offenders who are involved in the
Daviess County drug court program also speak to its successes.
Granted, there are setbacks that disappoint drug court team members,
but overall the victories far outnumber the defeats.

Measured against the cost of incarceration and other costs to society
when traditional punishment is administered, drug court should win
wide public acceptance as a reasonable alternative in which lives can
be rebuilt. In the long term, wider use of such programs could serve
to ease the costly pressure on our jail and prison systems.

As Henderson County's drug court team gears up for installing the
program here, there is reason to be optimistic that it too will
reconstruct lives and, consequently, transform burdens into blessings
for the individuals involved and the community at large.