DRUG COURTS COST JUSTIFIED

Regarding the Nov. 14 article "Surrey firm wins contract to treat addicts."
Drug courts appear to be a realistic and effective means to eliminate drug
addiction, the root cause of much crime. The proposed safe-injection sites,
which offer obvious health benefits to the addicts, do nothing to solve the
drug problem.

Regarding MP Libby Davies' objection to the courts due to high cost, I
offer the following. The National Criminal Justice Reference Service in the
U.S. reports that the cost of annual incarceration per offender is between
$20,000-$50,000 US versus less than $2,500 annually per offender in a drug
court program.

I'm sure Ms. Davies knows that in Canada the cost of annual incarceration
per offender is about $47,000 Cdn, and that the annual cost per offender in
the Toronto drug court program is about $4,500.

As well, according to the U.S. service, 97 per cent of those who have
completed the drug court treatment program do not reoffend (U.S. drug
courts have been in operation and under study for more than a decade now).

I say congratulations to Surrey's Stroh Health Care Consulting Corporation
in being awarded the contract associated with B.C.'s first drug court -- a
very constructive and concrete step in eliminating the disease of drug
addiction in B.C.

Carol Volk-Knibbs

Surrey