DRUG COURT, TREATMENT CENTER ARE A GOOD SOLUTION

A "drug court" proposed by 6th District Judge Randy Smith and supported by
Bannock County Prosecutor Mark Hiedeman, Public Defender Randy Schulthies
and probation officers is an innovative way to tackle one of society's most
vexing problems.

For the court to be effective, however, it needs to be accompanied by a
strong drug treatment infrastructure.

Drug-related crime clogs the criminal justice system and is labor intensive
and stressful for law enforcement officers, who risk their lives trying to
bust meth labs and dope dealers.

A drug court appears to be an efficient means of addressing the matter.

Here's how it would work:

It primarily would be for first-time drug offenders who must waive
preliminary hearings and plead guilty to drug charges brought against them.
Defendants typically would be sentenced to six months to a year of
intensive therapy rather than jail. Charges would be dropped from the
defendants' records if therapy were completed successfully.

The court would have one prosecutor and one defense attorney assigned to
select which defendants are eligible for the program.

The drug court system would be designed to help reduce the state's prison
population and give first offenders the opportunity to go straight,
short-circuiting chronic recidivism.

Bannock County Public Defender Randy Schulthies recently returned from an
Idaho Summit for Courts and Children in Boise. A judge from Prescott,
Ariz., said the drug court there works well, but a drug treatment network
is required.

Schulthies says if the Bannock County and 6th judicial districts don't get
closer access to inpatient drug treatment and halfway houses, a drug court
here is doomed to fail and addicts will continue to suffer.

"Especially with the meth problem, pretty intense treatment is needed to
get them over the hill," he says. "The idea of a drug court is very good.
If you don't have treatment for people, it's a revolving door. I have heard
no one opposed to it."

Smith, Hiedeman and Schulthies recently met with Brian Underwood, a
probation and parole officer and Pocatello councilman who expressed support
for the concept. School counselors and health and welfare officials also
like it.

Results from drug courts in Canyon, Ada and Kootenai counties generally are
good. Smith, Hiedeman, Schulthies and Trial Court Administrator Suzanne
Johnson plan to observe a session of a new drug court in Bonneville County.

"We're working with the state to bring resources to this area for
treatment," Schulthies says. A drug court in Bannock County could not be a
reality until the end of the year.

"It's needed. As much money as taxpayers of the state of Idaho are spending
on Department of Corrections facilities, some of that money is better spent
in treatment," Schulthies says. "Continuing to build prisons is not
resolving problems."

Getting money for treating first offenders is crucial for the drug court.
Preventing them from returning to the judicial system will streamline the
process and save thousands of dollars in the long run.