LOCAL DRUG COURT A MODEL FOR FORREST COUNTY PROPOSAL

HATTIESBURG, Miss. (AP) - A little less than two years ago, Noel McElroy
faced at least four years in prison after being arrested in Jackson with
crystal methamphetamine.

Now he's hanging gypsum wallboard for his own business. More importantly,
he's sober.

"If drug court wasn't around I'd probably be in prison, dead or still
drunk," said McElroy, whose drug of choice was alcohol.

The reason McElroy isn't in prison, dead or drunk is the Hinds County Drug
Court, part of the 7th Circuit Court District of Hinds County.

In one of three circuit court drug courts in the state, McElroy was given
the opportunity to get into treatment and get probation rather than prison
time.

"Basically, it really saved my life. It gave me a chance to learn about how
to stay sober and about my addiction as an alcoholic without going to
prison," McElroy said.

A drug court looks to be in Forrest County's future. New Circuit Court
Judge Bob Helfrich last week visited the 14th Circuit Court's drug court,
which was the first in the state when it began in 1999. The 14th district
includes Pike, Lincoln and Walthall counties.

A drug court could help eliminate the county's backlog and reduce crime, he
said.

"I talked to the addicts in the program and they can't say enough good
things about it," Helfrich said about his trip to Brookhaven to see the
court. "To me it's a no-brainer to implement it. We've got to have it."

Helfrich said he would like to see it by the end of the year.

The basic principle behind drug court is that many crimes are caused by
people who are addicted. The court seeks to treat the addiction rather than
run them through the court system, where they are likely to be released and
commit more crimes.

"Most people don't understand this, but four out of five felony crimes in
this state are a result of drug and alcohol addiction," said 14th Circuit
Court Judge Keith Starrett, who started the state's first drug court. "If
you send people away to the penitentiary with alcohol or drug problems you
don't address the problem."

More than 300,000 people have gone though drug courts across the country,
according to the National Association of Drug Court Professionals. About 70
percent of those graduated without relapsing.

In Starrett's court, 126 of 165 participants have successfully completed
the program.

When a person is arrested, they are given the opportunity to take the drug
court route if they are eligible. Different courts have different
eligibility requirements, but violent offenders aren't offered the drug
court option. Starrett does not allow people accused of residential
burglary to enter the program.

A defendant pleads guilty in Starrett's court at the first available date
and is put in a 42-day inpatient treatment facility. After successful
completion, the defendant goes into a 15-week outpatient program where he
reports to Starrett each week. He is tested each week for a year.

After the year, he checks in each month and is tested. If a defendant
relapses in Starrett's court, he is given a weekend in jail if he admits it
or 10 days in jail if he doesn't and is caught with the drug test.

In Hinds County, the combination of inpatient and outpatient treatment
lasts one year. The second year defendants are tested once a week, said
Brenda Mathis, program director of the Hinds County drug court.

"If there is a relapse it is the judge's discretion to send the victim back
through treatment or give them jail time," she said.

McElroy said he wasn't interested in treatment at the time he was arrested.
Mathis, Starrett and others say that a felony arrest is often a catalyst
for defendants to get treatment.

"I believe if they are not serious when they go into (drug court treatment)
a lot of them change their mind," McElroy said.

When Starrett began his drug court, there was a lot of opposition and
little money.

"They didn't understand it," he said. "The Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics
was very much opposed to it. A lot of people had a wait-and-see approach."

He found money in a federal grant that pays $100,000 a year. He said drug
court saves taxpayers well in excess of $1 million a year in incarceration
costs.

The State Auditor's office said Starrett's drug court costs less than
$5,000 per participant, compared to $16,757 to house an inmate in the state
Department of Corrections.

Hinds County gets a $150,000 annual appropriation from the Mississippi
Legislature. The drug court in the 4th Circuit Court District operates on
$96,000 annually.

The money comes from the Mississippi Attorney General's office and local
governments in Leflore and Washington counties.