DRUG TREATMENT COURTS PAY OFF

N.C. Could Cut Crime, Save Money By Rehabilitating, Not Incarcerating

From Don Tourtellott, president of the N.C. Association of Drug
Court Professionals:

Your Nov. 21 editorial about sentencing policy ("Making prison
space") highlights a good place to begin addressing prison
overcrowding. Former attorney general Burley Mitchell has called for
decriminalizing narcotics and making them a medical issue. Our
federal government and the states have spent trillions on the War on
Drugs with little success. We have made high-level drug moguls rich
and incarcerated a huge number of low-level and non-violent drug
offenders. There are eight times as many in prisons and jails in this
country today as there were in 1975. Because those imprisoned are
disproportionately poor and/or minority, some call it the new slavery.

Few are willing to go as far as Mr. Mitchell. The luncheon at which
he made the remarks was hosted by Families Against Mandatory
Minimums, who echo your sentiments that politicians have enacted laws
that tie judges' hands and force them to dole out harsh and
unreasonable penalties for nonviolent drug offenders.

Dan Blue, a former speaker of the N.C. House, spoke after Mr.
Mitchell. He identified the hardship on minorities who dominate the
prison cells: loss of jobs and income, breakup of families, kids in
foster care, lack of male leadership in black communities, etc.
Society often fails to understand the impact of putting one more
person behind bars.

The positive side of the picture is that drug and DWI treatment
courts are surprisingly effective. They began in this state in 1995.
Ten counties now have them; 90 do not. In a treatment court, the
judge leads a team that addresses the underlying causes of chemical
addiction as well as holding offenders accountable via regular drug
testing. One example: statewide, participants in DWI Treatment Court
recidivate at 18 percent vs. 44 percent for those incarcerated. If
employed statewide, this 26 percent difference would save 10,000 DWI
arrests per year. Note that one year of treatment costs about $2,500,
while one year in prison costs $25,000.

DWI and drug treatment courts increase public safety, save money and
rebuild lives. Yet this year legislators nearly eliminated them from
the budget. A strong effort by House Speaker Jim Black and others
provided a basic funding level of $1.1 million. Compare this to the
annual $1 billion spent on state prisons. In the past three years,
our state built five prisons for $455 million and annual operating
costs of $135 million. As a taxpayer, you should be upset: You're
paying far more and getting far less. As a human being, you should
find compassion for those who made mistakes with alcohol and
narcotics but aren't criminals.

The funding issue goes beyond legislators. Some bureaucrats don't
believe in rehabilitation. Drug treatment courts are new, started by
Janet Reno in Miami in 1989. Yet in those 16 years the body of
scientific data showing the financial and human virtues of drug
treatment courts has become very significant. The data showing that
drug courts work can no longer be ignored.

Complicating the matter is the fact that some N.C. communities in
depressed areas see a new prison as economic development. This is painful.

One commentator said, "America cannot incarcerate her way out of
entrenched social problems." Both the Clinton and Bush
administrations extol the virtues of drug treatment courts. One Rand
Corporation study says that for every $1 spent on such courts there
is a societal cost savings of $7.45. Please join me in encouraging
legislators and other state and court officials to save money by
funding drug treatment courts and reduce the need for beds in prisons.