Pubdate: Mon, 11 Dec 2000
Source: Las Vegas Sun (NV)
Copyright: 2000 Las Vegas Sun, Inc.
Contact:  P.O. Box 4275, Las Vegas, NV 89127
Fax: (702) 383-7264
Website: http://www.lasvegassun.com/
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Author: Cy Ryan

DRUG COURT PROGRAM HAS SLUGGISH START

CARSON CITY -- A program espoused by Gov. Kenny Guinn to transfer nonviolent
inmates from the state prisons into supervision by the drug courts in Las
Vegas and Reno is just getting off the ground -- only six months before it
is due to expire.

The 1999 Legislature approved a pilot project designed by Guinn and District
Judges Jack Lehman of Las Vegas and Peter Breen of Reno to take prisoners
within two years of their release into intense counseling, training and drug
testing.

The law was effective July 1, 1999, and will automatically expire June 30,
unless extended. And it allowed up to 150 inmates to be enrolled.

So far not one inmate has started. Lehman said he hopes to see the first
class of four begin in early January. He said they have been approved for
release, and the drug court staff will help find them jobs and places to
live.

"Anytime you're working through a large bureaucracy and putting something
new in, it takes a long time to get it done," says Lehman, who started the
drug court system in Nevada.

The program now takes people who are convicted of crimes and puts them
through the rehabilitation before they are ever sent to prison. And it
boasts that only 14 percent of those who graduate from the drug court system
become repeat offenders, far less than those who go to prison and then are
released.

Glen Whorton, chief classification officer for the state prison, said there
are several reasons for the slow start. The male population in the prison is
550 less than forecast. And those coming into prison are for heavier crimes
that are not eligible to enter the drug court.

In addition, he said there is a diversion program for those people who are
convicted but not sent to prison.

"We're not quitting on this," Whorton said.

A federal grant of $550,000 had been secured, and it has been sitting unused
for several months.

Despite the delays, Lehman said Guinn, Whorton and the new prison Director
Jackie Crawford have "been extremely helpful" in pushing the program.

Lehman said, "We want to get 100 people in as quickly as possible." And the
U.S. Department of Justice that gave the federal grant, is anxious to see
how this program will work, the judge said.

One thing that caused the delay, Lehman said was a change in administration
at the state prison. The governor replaced Prison Director Bob Bayer with
Crawford. The shift created confusion whether the program was for persons
convicted of drug crimes only or for all nonviolent inmates.

Lehman said that issue was resolved about a month and a half ago with the
decision that all inmates with drug problems were eligible. "We just don't
want violent people ... those convicted of rape or murder or assault and
robbery," he said.

The first group in Las Vegas will be two men and two women. One was
convicted of a property crime offense, and the other three were found guilty
of drug crimes.

The judge said staff and a clinic have been established in the last 30 days
to handle the new group. If and when they arrive, these inmates will undergo
periodic drug testing, receive acupuncture treatment in an effort to relieve
their drug cravings and be given intense counseling and training programs.
They will be required to finance their own housing, pay restitution to a
victim if it is required and to help offset the cost of the program.

The prison decides on which inmates will fit into the program. But there's a
local advisory committee, headed by the district judges, which makes the
decision whether to accept or deny the application.

Lehman stresses these convicts, while they are free, are still considered
under the jurisdiction of the state prison. If one of them fouls up or
doesn't follow the program, they go back to prison immediately. There are no
hearings such as in parole violations.

One of the advantages of the drug court program is it would cost the state
less to handle inmates. Testimony before the 1999 Legislature said the state
now pays $7,000 to house an inmate, and this program would cost less than
$2,000 a year.
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