GRANT ALLOWS HAMPTON TO LAUNCH DRUG COURT PLANS

HAMPTON -- Hampton officials expect to launch a new court program for drug
offenders within the next few months, thanks to a $356,000 grant the city
is getting from the U.S. Justice Department.

Called drug court, the program targets non-violent substance abusers in the
criminal justice system. Instead of jail, it provides treatment and support
services, with jail as a threat if participants do not comply with
requirements.

Participants undergo intensive supervision, including random testing for
alcohol and drug use. They also regularly appear before the judge, who can
impose swift sanctions for any lapses.

About a dozen localities in the state currently have drug courts, among
them Newport News, which started its program in November 1998. Hampton
officials hope to have their program up and running by this fall or
possibly earlier.

Hampton Commonwealth's Attorney Linda Curtis said the program has worked
well in other parts of the state, and the hope is it will do the same in
Hampton.

There is a relatively small group of people with addiction problems who are
in and out of court regularly, Curtis said. She said conventional methods
have not made as significant a dent on the problem as officials would like.

"We hope to really change lives and to lessen the criminal justice system's
role in their lives," Curtis said.

"And their role in ours."

The goal is that the new drug court will eventually reduce court caseloads,
reduce the crime rate and make the community a better place to live, she said.

Of the 24 people who have graduated from the Newport News Drug Court
program, only one has been rearrested - on a shoplifting charge - said
Natale Ward, the drug court's administrator. The typical recidivism rate
among drug abusers is 50 percent, she said.

Graduates have regained custody of children, gotten out of the welfare
system and become tax-paying citizens, Ward said. Working or being in
school full-time is one of drug court's requirements, she said.

"We're very excited that something we see on a day-to-day basis working is
spreading to Hampton," Ward said.

In the 18 years Ward said she has been working in substance abuse and
mental health programs, she has never seen anything as effective as drug
court. She attributes that to the fact that it combines treatment with the
leverage of the court system.

Hampton officials had worried this spring that state budget cuts would
derail their plans to start a drug court this year. But the federal grant
plus a cobbling together of resources from a lot of local agencies enabled
the drug court plan to go forward, said Patty Gilbertson, planning director
for the Hampton-Newport News Community Services Board.

The grant will keep the Hampton drug court running for two years,
Gilbertson said. By then, officials think they will be able to lobby state
and/or local sources for continued funding, she said.

"In the long-run, it saves money," Gilbertson said. "We can lock people up
forever, but it's not going to change them."