TREATING DRUG ADDICTS MAKES MORE SENSE THAN INCARCERATING THEM OVER
AND OVER AGAIN

We're finally starting to get smart in the ongoing battle against crime.

Sure, more police help, as do stiffer sentences to keep violent
career criminals where they can do no harm to society.

But that's only part of the puzzle.

In the three-part series "CrackCity," Sun reporter Michael Wood
revealed the devastating impact addiction-fuelled crime has on Calgary.

Four out of five crimes that make their way to court are perpetrated
by a criminal addicted to booze, crack, opiates or meth.

While tossing the perps behind bars gets them out of circulation for
awhile, it doesn't really get to the root of the addiction issue.

When an untreated addict gets back on the street, the crime spree
needed to feed an expensive habit usually begins all over again.

It's a response to crime that just goes around in circles.

When a hardcore crack addict in Calgary needs $3,000 a week to feed a
drug habit, that's a pricey runaround.

Aside from property crimes, there's a human toll from crime and
addiction that's impossible to calculate.

Those who advocate stiffer sentences alone, while pooh poohing
treatment for criminals as a bleeding-heart approach, should think again.

Calgary's Drug Treatment Court was launched in 2007 in response to
the growing number of addicts on our streets and the realization the
revolving door approach wasn't making much of a dent on crime.

Under the program, eligible non-violent offenders facing jail are
given the option of a one-to two-year drug treatment program.

With the threat of incarceration hanging over their heads if they
don't meet rigorous conditions, it's no get-out-of-jail-free card.

Every buck spent on the drug court could save up to $4 in costs to
the justice system alone, says Judge Jim Ogle, who presides over the program.

Even better, the price tag is about half the cost of incarceration.

Ald. Druh Farrell deserves credit for pushing for the city funding
that got this program off the ground, until provincial backing kicked in.

What's shocking is - considering the success of similar courts in the
U.S. over the last 20 years - it has taken so long to get this common
sense project up and running in this city.

Considering the success rate here in Calgary, it's perplexing the
"tough on crime" proponents in our provincial and federal governments
aren't stepping up to the plate with greatly expanded funding.

If it saves on police and prison costs and spares future victims from
the terrible costs of crime, it's a no-brainer.