COURT OFFICIALS PROPOSE DRUG COURT FOR CALHOUN COUNTY

Court officials pressed the Calhoun County Commission at its meeting
Thursday for $83,000 seed money to start a drug court for first-time offenders.

Under the proposal, an offender's charges could be expunged for successful
completion of an extensive, 18-month judge-supervised treatment program.

Locking up offenders for simple possession without providing them treatment
"is just not working," District Attorney Joe Hubbard told the commission.

The 25-year veteran prosecutor said overcrowded jails and prisons
demonstrate the failure of current strategies in the war on drugs.

"I'm not talking about being soft on drugs," Hubbard assured commissioners.

He said dealers and violent offenders need not apply to the drug court.
Circuit Judge Joel Laird said the drug court initially would address only
cases of first-time drug-possession offenders. It eventually might add
other non-violent simple possession cases, Laird said.

"Drugs are the number-one problem that drives our crime rate today," said
Sheriff Larry Amerson, who was asked to speak briefly on the matter.

Data from the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that roughly 80
percent of federal, state and local inmates are in jail for drug-related
crimes.

Prison, which offers scant treatment, has little effect on curbing
addiction. The county jail offers no treatment.

"Regardless of where you house somebody who has a drug problem, if they
don't receive help for that drug problem, they are going to continue to do
the things they've done in the past," Hubbard said.

According to at least one national study, approximately 85 percent of
drug-abusing offenders who don't receive extensive treatment such as is
offered in a drug court program go back to using drugs within a year of
release, and 95 percent use again after three years.

Drug courts have bucked the trend, national data from the last three years
show. Studies have shown the special courts help reduce repeat drug use by
20 percent compared with more traditional methods.

Hubbard and Laird made the case to commissioners for a Calhoun County drug
court system -patterned after other systems in the state and nation - that
would provide offenders with incentives and intensive treatment for kicking
addiction.

Intervention would begin within three days of an arrest, Hubbard said.
Initial consultations would determine if a defendant would benefit from a
program that could require daily counseling, possible time in a halfway
house, random urinalysis, weekly visits before Laird and a form of
probation, as well as employment to pay for the treatment.

Defendants who fail the program go to jail without their charges cleared.

"We've been trying to put this in place for a couple years," said Laird,
who added the program is ready to begin this month if the funding is
available. "We simply need help financially getting things kicked off."

After the initial $83,000 investment, the court would become
self-supporting, officials said.

"Ultimately, a drug court will save the taxpayers' money," Laird said. He
said the drug court could do that by reducing jail overcrowding and the
number of addicts.

"If we can eliminate illicit drug addiction, or at least make a dent in it,
there is no question that our jail populations will decrease
significantly," Hubbard said.

Some other Alabama counties, including DeKalb, Jefferson, and Mobile
counties, have had increasing success with their drug court programs, Laird
and Hubbard said.

"I think it's necessary to deal with these substance-abuse problems as
early as we possibly can, to hopefully not only break the cycle of drug
abuse but the cycle of crime," Laird said.

Commissioners were receptive to the idea, but delayed action on the funding
request.

"We'll do that very quickly," Commissioner Eli Henderson said after the
meeting about finding money for a drug court. "If we don't do any other
thing. We'll make that happen."

But other branches of government also asked the commission for more money
Thursday.

Sheriff Larry Amerson asked for $85,000 to create three additional
permanent deputy positions and to add a new corrections officer to
supervise the overcrowded women's section of the jail, where women accused
of murder bunk, virtually unsupervised, beside women accused of writing bad
checks.

Commissioner Robert Downing asked Amerson which of the two needs he would
prioritize as the greatest.

"Our need is so great that we need them both," Amerson replied.

"There's no question about the need," said Commissioner James A. "Pappy" Dunn.

As with the request for drug court money, the commission delayed action on
the sheriff's request and also delayed voting on $2,500 requested by
Circuit Clerk Ted Hooks to pay for part-time help with absentee voting.

Commissioners did unanimously approve an application for a federal COPS
grant that would place three deputies in the county schools for the next
three years.

In other business, the commission:

Awarded a contract to The Anniston Star to print 101,250 CSEPP public
information brochures at a cost of $22,707.58.

Awarded a contract to Oxford Fencing to fence an area at Thankful Park at a
cost of $1,600.

Awarded a contract to B&S Sporting Goods for outdoor sporting equipment for
Thankful Park at a cost of $7,601.

Heard the first reading of an ABC Board application by Alexandria Spirits
and Package Store to sell liquor and beer at 80 Spring Branch Road.

Reappointed Denise DeRamus and Earvin Ferrell to serve as citizens'
representatives on the board of directors of the East Alabama Regional
Planning and Development Commission.

About Jason Landers Glencoe native Jason Landers covers law enforcement
for The Anniston Star.