NUMBERS SHOW 'REAL PROBLEM' WITH ADDICTION

During May's session of the Henderson County grand jury, 31 cases were
brought before the panel.

Of those cases, roughly 27 were drug related -- directly or indirectly,
said Commonwealth's Attorney Bill Markwell.

Some people are charged with straight drug offenses, he said. But other
charges, such as burglaries, thefts or forged checks, are also related to
drugs when people commit these crimes to feed their habit, he said.

"We have a real problem in our community with the availability of drugs,"
he said. "A lot of people are addicted and they become non-productive in
society."

Markwell believes that the formation of an adult drug court in Henderson
County could go a long way to combat the problem.

Drug court is an intensive rehabilitative program -- an alternative to
incarceration -- for those charged with non-violent, drug-related crimes.
Eligibility is determined on a case-by-case basis.

"If we can break the addiction, we've accomplished quite a bit," he said.

Markwell is one of an 11-member team currently involved in trying to
establish a drug court here.

"Overwhelming numbers of our people are repeat offenders," he said. "The
problem is we don't have an extended, long-term treatment program" in
Henderson.

Team member and Henderson Police Detective Jamie Duvall, a narcotics
investigator, agreed with Markwell, saying what's in place now isn't working.

"Over the years after seeing the same faces, I was open minded to drug
court. At least the idea of an alternate system was something we needed to
look at," he said. "Lots of times, it seems we are just spinning our wheels."

According to statistics obtained from the Web site of the national Drug
Court Institute, there are 946 drug courts in operation across the country
and 441 in the planning stages.

To date, more than 300,000 adults and more than 12,500 juveniles are
enrolled in a drug court program.

Graduates of the program number 73,000 adults and 4,000 juveniles,
according to the Institute.

An estimated 1,000 drug-free babies were born to participants of drug
court, the figures show, and roughly 3,500 parents regained custody of
their children. The data also shows that 4,500 parents began making child
support payments and 73 percent of drug court participants have retained or
obtained employment.

The rate of recidivism is also down, according to information provided by
the U.S. Department of Justice.

Officials in the criminal justice system estimate that more than 50 percent
of those convicted of drug offenses will become repeat offenders.
Recidivism in drug courts in the U.S. ranges between five and 28 percent
for participants and less than four percent for drug court graduates.

"It's a win/win situation," Markwell said. Getting people off drugs can
turn them into productive members of society. And keeping them out of jail
will save taxpayers money, he said. Henderson Fiscal Court and jail
officials are currently dealing with soaring jail costs, much of it related
to rapidly increasing drug offenses.

Duvall noted that if drug court participants are working instead of being
incarcerated, that's money going back into the community.

"I believe it's time we get this drug treatment court started," Markwell
said. "I'm convinced it can work for a great number of our offenders."