Colorado Confidential - Dealing With Drugs - Part One and Two

Kerri Rebresh posted this over at Colorado Confidential she will follow up with part 2 tomorrow.

About 20 percent of Colorado’s 22,000 inmates are incarcerated on drug charges. At a cost of $28,000 per inmate per year, the state spends about $117 million each year to lock up non-violent drug offenders, and that number does not include other costs such as enforcement and prosecution. Drug offenders are often given the option of going to treatment instead of prison, but access to programs that meet their needs – and are affordable – is scarce.

But many studies have found that drug treatment is a much more effective way of dealing with drug offenders than putting them behind bars. A 2004 analysis of several treatment programs in Maryland found that "on the whole, providing drug offenders with treatment is a more cost-effective way of dealing with substance addicted, drug and nonviolent offenders than prison." The study found that the treatment programs behind bars yielded a benefit of $1.91 for every dollar spent, but programs for offenders outside of prison yielded $8.87 worth of social benefits for every dollar spent.

Faced with an overflowing prison population and an exploding corrections budget, Colorado legislators took an important step this session that could result in reform of the state's criminal justice policies. When signed by Gov. Ritter, House Bill 1358 will create the Colorado Criminal and Juvenile Justice Commission, which will be charged with reviewing four specific issues: prevention, alternatives to incarceration, sentencing policies and juvenile justice policies. The commission will be comprised of 26 members including: executive directors of the departments of Public Safety, Corrections, Human Services, and Higher Education the Attorney General, State Public Defender, chairperson of the Parole Board, and chairperson of the Juvenile Parole Board 4 legislators 2 members appointed by the Chief Justice of the Colorado Supreme Court 12 members appointed by the Governor continued...

Kerri Rebresh :: Dealing With Drugs, Part II

Department of Public Safety Executive Director Peter Weir spoke Tuesday on KCFR's Colorado Matters about the commission. Weir described three categories of offenders: violent offenders, drug dealers and drug users. The latter group, he said, "is really a group that I think we can make a difference with." Weir said drug users are often given several chances before they end up behind bars, but many appear in front of the court again and again. It's an indication that probation alone doesn't work, he said. There needs to be other services, such as drug treatment, that are used in conjunction with probation. "We have very, very few programs that are addressing both the mental health issues and the substance abuse and the alcohol issues," Weir said.

Colorado Confidential