Drug Courts Can Change Lives

Drug Courts Can Change Lives

Rep. Boozman's Column for the Week of January 19, 2004

Stories about drug busts tend to dominate the nightly news and our community newspapers these days. This certainly is a dangerous trend that is straining our communities' resources. While we are making strides in combating the spread of drugs in Arkansas, our law enforcement officials are having a hard time keeping up with the increase in illegal drug activity in the region. It isn't any easier for our courts and prisons, which are increasingly overburdened with the rising number of nonviolent drug offenders. One effective way to deal with the stress nonviolent drug offenders place on our judicial and prison systems is through drug courts.

The mission of the drug court program is to reduce the rate of recidivism and substance abuse among nonviolent adult and juvenile substance-abusing offenders. Drug courts effectively integrate substance abuse treatment, mandatory drug testing, sanctions, incentives and transitional services in a judicially supervised court setting with jurisdiction over nonviolent, substance-abusing offenders. This unique approach creates a balance of authority, supervision, support and encouragement, which are all critical to an addict's recovery.

The way the program works is that the offender is offered the opportunity to avoid prison in exchange for a commitment to the program that sets them on a path of personal responsibility and dedication to the community. The drug court program is rigorous and demanding. It requires frequent drug testing and court appearances combined with an intensive treatment and recovery program. The offender must completely dedicate him or herself to the task of cleaning-up or risk jail time for failing to comply with the program.

Little Rock started the state's first drug court. Since its inception six years ago, more than eighty percent of their graduates have stayed off drugs. Their success led to the creation of drug courts across Arkansas. By the end of next month, Arkansas is expected to have twenty-five drug courts in operation.

People are starting to take notice of the successes of Arkansas' drug courts. Last fall, Sebastian County's drug court received close to $500,000 from the federal government to expand their operation. The court, which has eighty clients, has been operating almost two years and so far has graduated seventeen people from their program. To this date, none of the graduates have fallen back into addiction compared to the close to 60 percent recidivism rate in the regular court system.

In the end, changing lives is what it is all about. Arkansas' jails are overcrowded and the idea that we can just lock up drug addicts and hope they will come out reformed has been proven obsolete. While the threat of incarceration must remain part of our deterrent strategy, we need to look at programs like drug courts as ways to deal with nonviolent drug offenders. With drug courts, these nonviolent offenders are held responsible and accountable for their actions, but they also receive real treatment making it far more likely that they will not have to return. Graduates of drug courts usually go on to become productive members of the community as they finish the program with a new lease on life. This alone makes drug courts a worthy investment.