TX-Don't Lock 'em Up,Throw Away Key

Editorial: Don't lock 'em up, throw away key
Drug court is alternative for counties
Publication Date: 02/28/08
Randall County law enforcement officials say the status quo in the fight against illegal drug use isn't working.
So, to seek another - and presumably better - method of battling this scourge, the county is pondering whether to establish a drug court.
County commissioners this week decided to seek a grant from the Criminal Justice Division of the governor's office to establish a drug court for the county.
The concept has its ardent supporters. Sheriff Joel Richardson and County Judge Ernie Houdashell are two who think it will work for Randall County.
It's worth the effort.
Houdashell said the county's practice of arresting drug offenders and then "throwing them into jail" isn't solving the problem. The individuals are being released, getting re-arrested and are tossed back into the slammer, Houdashell said. "It's not working," he added.
Richardson sees the drug court as a way to reduce the jail population, thereby freeing up space at the lockup for more serious offenders.
"We ought to be doing something other than locking people up" on drug- related crimes, Richardson said.
The grant would pay for research and planning for a drug court, county officials said this week. Implementation of the drug court would require another financing source.
How does this court work? It puts offenders on probation in what is called "intensive supervision. called "intensive supervision. " forms of probation, and they require drug offenders to seek treatment for their addiction.
"Most people in the county jail are there because of some type of drug-related offense," said Danny Alexander, spokesman for the Randall County Sheriff's Department. He added that many inmates aren't locked up necessarily for drug use or selling. "Many of them are on burglary charges, which are related to their drug use," he said.
Richardson said he is hopeful that the community will coalesce around the drug court. "It will take a coalition of the community to make it work," he said, and that includes Potter County joining Randall County in the court's eventual implementation.
Richardson, of course, is right when he laments the huge rate of repeat offenses among drug users under the current system. "You bust a guy for meth use, put him in jail and then release him, he's going to be right back in jail on the same kind of charge," Richardson said.
It's time, therefore, for a new approach.

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