Drug courts ease prison burden

As the grip of opioid addiction tightens, drug users often turn to crime to support their dependence.

They shoplift, break into homes, and steal from family, friends and neighbors. They are arrested, and either jailed or placed on probation, only to again sink into the addiction-crime-arrest cycle once they are freed.

As the number of offenders rises, the burden on — and costs of — county courts, jails, probation departments and related offices also spirals upward.

Seventy to 80 percent of offenders are addicted to drugs, said Schuylkill County Judge James P. Goodman

In Pennsylvania, counties have sought to break the cycle by establishing drug treatment courts.

These “problem solving” courts seek long-term solutions, aiming to rehabilitate rather than punish addicted offenders.

War on drugs

May is National Drug Court month. The recognition is coordinated by the National Association of Drug Court Professionals.

“The war on drugs intensified during the 1980s, placing the justice system on the front lines of the cocaine epidemic. Both justice and treatment professionals alike began to recognize that not treating substance use and mental health disorders simply perpetuated a vicious cycle of relapse and recidivism,” NADCP said.

“In 1989, the first drug court launched in Miami-Dade County, Florida, laying the foundation for what is now nearly three decades of justice system reform. Treatment courts prove that providing supervision, structure and evidence-based treatment was a far more successful approach to substance use and mental health disorders than punishment,” the organization said.

There are more than 3,000 treatment courts in the United States annually serving 150,000 people.

According to NADCP, since 1989, treatment courts have saved more than 1.5 million lives and billions of tax dollars.

“Treatment courts are a proven budget solution that stops the revolving door of arrest and incarceration for people with substance use and mental health disorders. They prove that justice is sometimes best served by connecting people to treatment and resources to help them turn their lives around,” said NADCP CEO Carson Fox. “Treatment courts save lives and resources and must be expanded to meet the growing need.”

A local example

Schuylkill County launched its drug treatment court in January 2017.

“We wanted to get 35 people. It filled up quickly, and we had that number by July 2017,” Judge Goodman said.

As of this month, six offenders have been ejected from the program for failing to abide by its strict terms. There are currently 32 people in the program.

Offenders must plead guilty to be accepted into the drug court.

To be successful, offenders must stay off drugs, meet with their treatment providers, work or perform community service, join a support group, obey the law, and meet other requirements.

The 14-month minimum program is divided into five phases and includes a one-year aftercare program.

If offenders successfully complete the program, their charges will be dismissed.

That’s a big incentive for offenders, Goodman has said. Having charges dismissed will make it easier to get a job.

The offenders meet weekly with Goodman and a probation officer, and will be heavily involved in treatment and regular drug testing.

Most offenders go into inpatient treatment for 60-90 days.

“That doesn’t count for the program,” Goodman said. “So no one is going to complete the program in 14 months.”

Staying clean

He expects to have the program’s first graduation in August or September.

The most challenging thing for offenders is to stay clean, he said.

“Normally these people are just on probation. If they relapse, they’re not really held accountable,” Goodman said. “Here, they have consequences, and they are able to reach out to us if they feel they are going to relapse.”

The program is built on incentives and sanctions.

“They have a book to take to appointments, and it has to be signed. If they miss appointments they can be sanctioned,” Goodman said.

Minor infractions can send a participant to the jury box, called the penalty box.

“They don’t want to be in there. They are ashamed or embarrassed,” he said.

More serious infractions might be punished by having the offender do additional community service. If they test positive for drugs, they could be put on elect monitoring, and have to report daily to the probation department rather than just two or three days a week.

The offender might also spend a few days in jail.

“If they forget their book or miss an appointment, they may have to write an essay on responsibility or write a letter to a counselor,” he said.

But offenders are also rewarded, sometimes with something as simple as being applauded by their fellow offenders and drug court officials or earning breaks in community service.

In addition to Schuylkill, there are 33 other drug treatment courts in Pennsylvania.

They are Allegheny, Berks, Blair, Bucks, Butler, Centre, Chester, Columbia/Montour, Delaware, Erie, Fayette, Franklin, Indiana, Lackawanna, Lancaster, Lawrence, Luzerne, Lycoming, Montgomery, Northampton, Northumberland, Philadelphia, Potter, Snyder/Union, Somerset, Tioga, Venango, Warren, Washington, Westmoreland and York.

In addition, Elk, Forest and Jefferson counties have joined in a regional drug court.