DRUG COURTS NEEDED

Craighead County Sheriff Jack McCann has been an advocate of drug courts
for a long time. He views the program and rehabilitation rather than prison
for first-time, non-violent offenders as the answer to a major social and
law enforcement problem.

Now he wonders if he has been "wasting our time" because he has made little
progress toward establishing a drug court for the county.

McCann admits that it has simply come down to a matter of money. That's the
frustrating part. The veteran law enforcement officer views drug courts as
a sound investment, not decriminalization of the state's drug laws.

State and local criminal justice systems have been inundated with felony
drug cases for more than a decade. Court dockets are overloaded with drug
cases and offenders who are using drugs, leaving fewer resources available
to adjudicate serious, violent crimes.

Police officers like McCann say it has become increasingly clear that
incarceration in and of itself does little to break the cycle of illegal
drug use and crime. Offenders sentenced to jail or prison for drug-related
offenses exhibit a high rate of recidivism once they are released.

Some drug abuse treatment programs have proved effective in reducing both
drug addiction and drug-related crime.

A number of jurisdictions have changed their approach to handling
defendants charged with drug and drug-related offenses and have developed
drug court programs which operate in conjunction with the traditional court
process. Individuals targeted for the "drug court" are generally
non-violent offenders whose involvement with the criminal justice system is
due, primarily, to their addiction.

Defendants eligible for the drug court program are identified as soon as
possible after arrest. If accepted into the program, they are referred to a
multi-phase outpatient treatment program entailing multiple weekly --
sometimes daily -- sessions for counseling, therapy and education;
urinalysis (usually at least weekly); frequent hearings before the drug
court judge and a rehabilitation program entailing vocational, educational,
family, medical and other support services.

Jackson County Sheriff Jim Bishop agrees with McCann, warning at Tuesday's
legislative committee meeting here that jail bills may bankrupt some
smaller Arkansas counties.

Prosecuting Attorney Brent Davis raised the issue of involuntary commitment
procedures that can get a person who is addicted to drugs into treatment.
He compared it to the involuntary commitment used to get a mentally ill
person into a hospital for treatment.

Sheriffs frequently wait months to get a jail inmate into a state hospital
for a mental evaluation. Many drug treatment programs are filled, just like
the county jails, to capacity.

Drug courts cost 50 percent or less to operate per individual than the cost
of keeping the same person behind bars, according to a U.S. Justice
Department study. The long-term benefits are even better.

McCann, who attended the committee meeting called to address the growing
methamphetamine problem, believes he is preaching to the choir. Few
officials in Arkansas are answering the invitational hymn.