| As a matter of public
record, in the first 90 days of 2010, police departments
throughout Logan County along with the Logan County
Sheriff's Department have issued public arrest reports
on a total of 48 arrests involving substance abuse. Of
those arrests, slightly over 50 percent were
drug-related. In
addition, this statistic does not account for arrests
made involving minors under the age of 18, nor does it
take into consideration ongoing investigations where no
arrest has been made to date. |
Judge Thomas Harris told county finance committee members on
Tuesday evening: "Many, many crimes are committed either by
individuals who are under the influence of a substance, whether
alcohol or drugs, or they (crimes) are committed to obtain funds to
obtain drugs. We've recognized that simply prosecuting and
imprisoning these individuals was not breaking the cycle. If there
can be intervention to stop the substance abuse, you can slow the
crime rate. That's what drug courts essentially do."
The state of Illinois required all counties have a drug court set
up by the first of this year. The Logan County Drug Court has been
under development for a year and was officially established on March
8 for the 11th Circuit Court, of which Logan County is part.
"We're officially in existence. We just have no money," Harris
said.
"This is a very effective program at getting these people away
from substance abuse," he said. "If accepted, that person agrees to
embark on an intensive period of probation. It is a very controlled
environment from that point forward."
He went on to explain the process. When an individual who is
charged with a crime is identified as substance abuser, he or she
would be referred to the drug court. It will be decided there if
this individual is a good candidate.
On entering into the process, individuals will be involved in
weekly counseling and frequent meetings with their probation
officer; give up their Fourth Amendment rights on searches and
therefore can be searched, or their residence can be searched at any
time for illegal drugs without warrant; and they are drug tested.
They are engaged in a lot of counseling and treatment, the judge
said.
Additionally, there will be once-per-week assessments before the
drug court team, who will review an individual's progress over the
prior week. If they have done well -- which is measured by not
having had a positive drug screen, going to work or school, and
being compliant with all terms of their probation -- there are
rewards that they receive.
If they test positive for drugs, there are immediate sanctions.
When a violation is announced in court, they are immediately taken
to jail.
The chief probation officer, Kim Turner, will have a lot of work
to do in this program, Harris said.
Due to the labor intensity and extensive testing costs, no more
than 10 to 15 participants will be allowed in the process at a time.
Joining Harris were Turner; Jonathan Wright, first assistant
Logan County state's attorney; and Patrick Timoney, public defender.
Also serving on the team and serving the court will be people
from the substance abuse treatment center, Treatment Alternatives
for Safe Communities, a member of law enforcement from the sheriff's
office and mental health counselors.
Harris said that drug court team members have attended seminars,
training and operating drug courts in Mason, Pike and McLean
counties. He fully expects the Logan County Drug Court to be in
operation by late summer or early fall.
The primary obstacle in getting going is funding for its
operation. This is another unfunded state mandate. The state has no
funds for this process. However, by statute, counties are being
permitted to assess additional fees on certain criminal cases to
build up a fund.
Wright explained that individuals in the program will meet more
frequently with probation officers, anywhere from two to four times
per week. There will be frequent drug testing, up to several times
per week, all of which will be quite costly.
Wright explained that the Logan County Board is being asked to
approve two ordinances, both written in accordance with the state
statute, that would authorize additional fees on certain criminal
court cases:
-
A $10 assessment
to be paid in a judgment of guilty or a grant of supervision on
a felony or misdemeanor case.
-
A $5 assessment to be paid in a
judgment of guilt or a grant of supervision for a violation of
the Illinois Vehicle Code or a violation of similar provision
within the county. These assessments would be found on matters
judged in traffic court.
Wright clarified that the assessments are not fines, but are fees
that can be collected to help offset costs incurred in the drug
court.
Community health improvement plan targets substance abuse
The increasing awareness and desire to find solutions to
substance abuse in our community is not only being addressed by the
legal system, but also by our public health care system.
Community leaders, agencies and health care providers met this
spring to assist the Logan County Department of Public Health in
creating its next five-year plan. Kristi Melton, a student working
on her master's degree in public health, compiled the information
and facilitated three roundtable meetings during the community
health assessment.
Community priorities were identified as adult obesity, diseases
of the heart, tobacco and substance abuse, and oral health. As these
were ranked by seriousness of the problem and the effectiveness of
any current programs, tobacco and substance abuse placed third.
Some of the criteria raising concern for substance abuse were the
attitudes of school children about their use of alcohol, tobacco and
marijuana. The 2008 Youth Survey of Logan County students revealed
that in the past month:
-
Among
sixth-graders, 17 percent said that they consumed alcohol, 2
percent used tobacco, and 1 percent admitted to using marijuana.
-
Among
eighth-graders, 19 percent said that they consumed alcohol, 9
percent used tobacco, and 5 percent admitted to using marijuana.
-
Among
10th-graders, the figures jumped to 43 percent who consumed
alcohol, 23 percent used tobacco, and 17 percent admitted to
using marijuana
-
Among 12th-graders, percentages fell to
41 percent who consumed alcohol, 22 percent used tobacco, and 15
percent admitted to using marijuana.
[to top of second column] |
More alarmingly, the survey showed that as children grew older,
they felt their parents were less likely to disapprove of their use
of these products.
-
Among
sixth-graders, 95 percent said their parents would disapprove of
their alcohol usage, and 100 percent said parents would
disapprove of the use of tobacco and marijuana.
-
Among
eighth-graders, disapproval ratings dropped to 92 percent for
alcohol, 96 percent for tobacco and 98 percent for marijuana.
-
Among
10th-graders, disapproval ratings dropped to 84, 92 and 96,
respectively.
-
Among 12th-graders, disapproval ratings
dropped further to 69, 75 and 91 percent, respectively.
During the assessment process, each health problem was examined,
looking for the primary risk factors, direct contributing factors
and indirect contributing factors.
The group discussing tobacco and substance abuse called their
first risk factor family history, and they named direct and indirect
contributing factors: predisposition or hereditary, family
acceptance, behavioral modeling, access to the substance itself,
availability, affordability, lack of education, low self-esteem,
lack of supervision, and stress.
Community acceptance and tolerance was another risk factor, with
the following being some of the direct and indirect contributing
factors: peer pressure, geographical location, lack of enforcement,
age, social status, lack of role models, media influence, limited
alternatives, accepted behavior, community tradition and ignoring
the problem.
More awareness of and response to these identified health issues
will be brought to the community through the plan that is now being
created. Melton intends to submit Logan County's plan to the state
Board of Health in October.
[By JAN YOUNGQUIST,
with contributions by NILA SMITH]
|
The drug court model
Drug courts operate under a very specific model that
combines intensive judicial supervision, mandatory drug
testing, escalating sanctions and treatment to help
substance-abusing offenders break the cycle of addiction
and the crime that accompanies it. In 1997, the National
Association of Drug Court Professionals published
"Defining Drug Courts: The Key Components," designed to
provide courts with a model that can be adapted to fit
the specific needs of the community.
The 10 key components
-
Drug
courts integrate alcohol and other drug treatment
services with justice system case processing.
-
Using
a non-adversarial approach, prosecution and defense
counsel promote public safety while protecting
participants' rights to due process.
-
Eligible participants are identified early and
promptly placed in the drug court program.
-
Drug
courts provide access to a continuum of alcohol,
drug and other related treatment and rehabilitation
services.
-
Abstinence is monitored by frequent alcohol and
other drug testing.
-
A
coordinated strategy governs drug court responses to
participants' compliance.
-
Ongoing judicial interaction with each drug court
participant is essential.
-
Monitoring and evaluation measure the achievement of
program goals and gauge effectiveness.
-
Continuing interdisciplinary education promotes
effective drug court planning, implementation and
operations.
-
Forging partnerships among
drug courts, public agencies and community-based
organizations generates local support and enhances
drug court effectiveness.
[From
http://en.wikipedia.org/] |
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