STUDY SAYS DRUG COURTS EFFECTIVE IN SAVING MONEY

JACKSON (AP) -- Mississippi could save $5.4 million annually if 500 people a
year successfully complete drug court programs instead of going to prison, a
new study says.

State Auditor Phil Bryant, who released the study Monday, said the numbers
help legislators who want to create a statewide system of drug courts.

"This is not soft on crime. This is a program that works," Bryant said.

Some circuit, county and youth court judges are already running drug court
programs on their own and covering expenses with grant money. Participants
in the programs go through drug treatment and other programs in hopes of
reducing penalties they might face for criminal charges.

Bills filed this session would help create statewide standards for drug
courts. The bills would provide $475,000 for the state Administrative Office
of the Courts to hire four people to help with the program. There is no
money to create new judgeships or to hire more staff members for judges
already on the bench.

Money is tight this session and legislative leaders have said there is
little chance of new programs being created.

On Monday, a diverse group of legislators -- black and white, Democrat and
Republican -- spoke out for the creation of more drug courts.

"The drug court saves lives and it saves money," said Rep. Jim Barnett,
D-Brookhaven, who has watched drug court sessions in his home county.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Edwin Pittman also supports expansion of drug
court programs.

Circuit Judge Margaret Carey-McCray, whose district covers Washington,
Sunflower and Leflore counties, said she had been in office only three weeks
in 1999 when she saw a need for drug courts. She said she had studied the
system in Florida and saw that it helped people straighten out their lives.

Carey-McCray said some people coming through her court kept getting in
trouble with the law because of their drug habits.

"It was clear that if there was a disease of addiction they were suffering
with, it wasn't going to stop," she said.

Drug court programs are not open to all people accused of crimes. The
district attorney's office and the arresting agency must approve people's
participation, Carey-McCray said.

The bills are House Bill 1257 and Senate Bill 2605.