DISTRICT TO TAKE PART IN ADULT DRUG COURT PLANNING PROGRAM

The 11th Circuit Court District was recently chosen to participate in the
FY 2003 Adult Drug Court Planning Initiative Training Program, making it
only one of a handful to participate in the state.

The program is conducted by the Drug Courts Program Office of the U.S.
Department of Justice to assist the participating districts in obtaining
federal grants to finance adult drug court programs in the selected areas.

The program is in partnership with the National Drug Court Institute, and
the National Criminal Justice Reference Service will provide all logistical
support for the program.

"(It) pays for the jurisdiction team to go to school three times to learn
how to establish the program in the 11th District," said Circuit Court
Judge Albert B. Smith III.

Smith chose a team of nine to attend the training made up of himself,
Leslie Flint, assistant district attorney; Vicky Smith, district attorney
office manager; Rebecca Pilgrim, drug court coordinator and court
administrator; Stuart Allen, evaluator and treatment provider; Laurence
Mellen, district attorney; Raymond Wong, public defender; Charles
Thornburg, treatment representative and Tony Harris, probation and patrol
officer with the Mississippi Department of Corrections.

"The federal government - once it approved the application - will pay for
us to go," he added.

The schooling or workshops will take place sometime between November 2002
and November 2003, but the date, time and locations have not yet been
determined.

Smith said each workshop will last several days, and "we will fly to
different locations outside of Mississippi."

The workshops will teach those in attendance how to establish a drug court
program as a means of treatment for drug offenders instead of incarcerating
them which does little for the actual drug addiction.

"It's an alternative to sentencing," Smith described, "in that is gives
judges an opportunity instead of sentencing (offenders) to prison for
first-time possession."

The drug court program supervises drug offenders intensively and evaluates
them on a regular basis.

"It helps people who have a problem instead of sending them straight to
Parchman," Smith explained.

In fact, Smith said it was a stricter program than immediate imprisonment.

"There is a strict criteria to be put into the program," Pilgrim added.

She said the program is mostly for non-violence offenders who have been
charge with possession.

Smith said with such an intense program there is a much lower rate of
recidivism where dealers get off of the drugs and remain out of the legal
system.

According to a summary assessment prepared by the Drug Court Clearinghouse
and Technical Assistance Program, "drug abuse treatment is demonstrably
effective in reducing both drug addiction and drug-related crime."

"The basic premise is to get (offenders) off of drugs and alcohol and give
them the freedom to live a normal life," Smith said.

"Anytime you can help people get off drugs or alcohol and out of the legal
system," it's worth it.

"It avoids crime and saves money for law enforcement by keeping offenders
from coming back into the system," he added.

Positive results such as these is what spurred Smith to apply for the
training in hopes of involving his district in the program.

"We had to apply and give our demographics," such as the number of people
and crimes in the area as well as the rural make-up of the county, Smith
explained.

There is also a commitment to be actively involved in the program once a
district is chosen to participate.

The participation in the program, both training and instituting it, is a
first for Bolivar County.

As of October 2001, the summary assessment revealed "drug court programs
operate in 29 states and in the District of Columbia and one federal
district, with programs about to be implemented in 14 additional states."

"The Court has more of a hands-on role in reviewing the progress of a
person in the program," Smith added.

The hands-on approach intends to help dealers come clean and maintain a
proper lifestyle which will in turn benefit Bolivar County.