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Drug courts helping curb rising prison population, officials say Sunday, May 18, 2008 By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau LITTLE ROCK - While prison officials are hard-pressed to explain a recent spike in the prison population, one thing they do know is that without the 39 drug courts in Arkansas the number of inmates behind bars would be much higher. Since the number of drug courts were expanded in 2003, the program has become such a success that legislation is being developed for the 2009 session to add up to two more in eastern Arkansas, a region of the state currently without one, and to add juvenile drug courts. "This is an excellent program because it focuses on treatment instead of on punishment," said Carol Roddy, the state drug court program coordinator. Nearly 1,000 people have graduated from the program, according to the Arkansas Department of Community Corrections, and about 1,600 are enrolled in programs across the state. That's 2,600 diverted from the state's chronically overcrowded prisons. The program also saves the state money, according to a recent legislative audit, which found it costs the state $9.96 a day for each participant, while the state spends $54.82 a day for inmates. Last month, the state Board of Corrections heard that not only was the prison population at more than 100 percent capacity, but since January the inmate population has averaged 108 new inmates a month, more than three times the monthly average over the past 10 years. State Prison Director Larry Norris said he and other prison officials are trying to determine the reason for the sudden rise in the inmate population, including nearly 160 in the past month. Norris and other prison officials said they were looking at a variety of factors, including the increased speed in which courts are sending people to prison and the types of crimes and the sentences the felons are receiving. G. David Guntharp, director of the Department of Community Corrections, said last week he just finished a review of probation revocations and could not find any link to the sharp rise in the past five months. "We're looking at all aspects ... we're perplexed," he said. "Why within the last three to four months have we had this pop to go up like it has?" "I think they are really having an impact," Guntharp said. "Just imagine how huge our growth would be if we didn't have the courts because many of those participants in drug courts would be coming to us," said prison spokeswoman Dina Tyler. In Arkansas, the first drug court opened in 1994 in Little Rock with a handful of participants. Within a few years, a second court opened in Benton and Madison counties and by 2002 there were eight drug courts around the state, all overseen by circuit judges volunteering their time. Sen. Bill Pritchard, R-Elkins, was so impressed that in 2003 he filed legislation to put a drug court in every judicial district in the state. The Legislature later passed the Arkansas Drug Court Act. Today, there are 39 drug courts located around the sate. Each court receives $25,000 annually based on an average of 11.73 participants. Each court receives additional funding based on the number of additional participants. To develop uniform statewide evaluation methods, and to make sure each court is working under the same set of definitions, a 12-member Drug Court Advisor Committee has been meeting, with Chief Justice Jim Hannah as chairman. The committee plans to submit its recommendations to the Legislature later this year. Pritchard, a member of the committee, said while the various drug courts are somewhat autonomous, they still all need to have the same basic set of rules. "We still want to give the individual judges the leeway to do the running of their courtrooms the way they want," he said. Each drug court has a team that includes the circuit judge, prosecutor, public defender, probation officer and a drug/alcohol counselor. Those selected to participate in drug courts are non-violent offenders who are willing to meet with their probation officer and counselor on a regular basis and take random drug tests. There also are education and employment requirements, and regular court appearances. Any violations of the rules could mean being sent immediately to prison. If successfully completed, participants either have their conviction expunged or avoid charges altogether. Some areas of eastern Arkansas still don't have the programs, something Pritchard said he hopes to correct during the 2009 session. Roddy said plans are being developed to place a drug court in Mississippi County and another in the Delta region on the state's eastern border. "Both those areas are underserved," she said. Pritchard said he also is working on legislation that would add a few more juvenile drug courts. Currently, there are two pilot juvenile drug programs, in Benton and Saline counties. "Right now, the drug courts are getting to the adults, but most are starting to use drugs when they are teenagers, so we should target them, too," Pritchard said. |
