Pubdate: Sun, 19 Jun 2005
Source: Oshkosh Northwestern (WI)
Copyright: 2005 Gannett Co., Inc.
Contact: 
http://www.wisinfo.com/northwestern/contactus/readerservices/letter_to_edito
r.sh
Website: http://www.wisinfo.com/northwestern/index.shtml
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2640
Author: Jim Collar
Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?159 (Drug Courts)

ADVOCATES CITE MINNESOTA AS EXAMPLE

Drug defendant Denise Francisco carried a smile on her face late last month
while walking out of a downtown Minneapolis courtroom.

Never mind the fact that she had to leave because her young granddaughter
was getting wily and couldn't sit still before Francisco's case was called.

She still had plenty of reason to smile. She knew her drug test was clean.
Just a few minutes later, she entered the courtroom and quickly re-emerged
to fulfill the child's wishes of going outside to see the fountains.

Francisco is working through Hennepin County's drug court program after a
methamphetamine arrest. Her program requires frequent court visits and drug
screenings. She said the strict regiment of the system and the threat of
jail or prison if she fails has been the key to staying clean. If she
graduates, her case will be expunged.

"It's step by step, and it sets you on the straight and narrow," she said.
"You can't screw up."

Not that Francisco wants to break the rules.

"I feel really good right now," she said.

Drug court programs like those in Hennepin County represent a changing
philosophy about non-violent offenders that focuses on community corrections
and, in some cases, treating underlying addictions that lead to crime.

In Minnesota, offenders are more often sentenced to programs where they're
closely supervised and required to meet court-imposed conditions while
continuing to live in their communities.

Statistics show it reduces the costs of administering justice.

The state's prison system is reserved for the most serious of offenders, and
in the last fiscal year, it cost just more than one third of Wisconsin's.
Nationally, offenders who participate in community-based treatment programs
are half as likely to re-offend, statistics show.

As Wisconsin's prison population and its associated costs continue to grow,
advocates are pushing for change. Those involved with Wisconsin's Treatment
Instead of Prisons campaign point to Minnesota's experience to underscore
arguments that prisons are expensive, temporary warehouses where the roots
of crime are not effectively addressed.

Winnebago County will soon join the small, but growing number of Wisconsin
counties aimed at lessening recidivism among addicted offenders through
court-based treatment programs. The Winnebago County Jail, meanwhile will
work toward more bracelet monitoring.

Critics of Wisconsin's correctional philosophy often point to our
neighboring state as an example we should follow.

Wisconsin and Minnesota are two states with similar crime rates,
demographics and populations. But one stark difference stands out.

On Jan. 1, 2005, Wisconsin had 22,145 inmates serving time in its prisons.
Minnesota's prison population on Jan. 7, 2005 was 8,482.

Minnesota locks up 17 inmates for every 10,000 residents, while Wisconsin
more than doubles that with 41 prison inmates for every 10,000 residents.

Differing prison populations between the states doesn't mean that Minnesota
police and prosecutors are sitting on their hands. Minnesota last year had
nearly 124,000 people under supervision for felony or misdemeanor offenses
with just 7 percent of them being held in prison. Wisconsin had about 93,000
under supervision by prison, probation or parole. Nearly a quarter of those
were held in the prison system.

Successful programs developed

Walter Dickey, a law professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said
Minnesota's system has positive and negative components, but it's clear the
state has developed and used community-based corrections effectively. It's
allowed them to handle their criminal justice system at a lesser expense
with no consequence to public safety, he said.

Community corrections in Wisconsin is generally limited to supervision under
state probation and parole. In Minnesota, local government plays a broader
role. Throughout much of the state, county government, or a collaboration of
counties handle offender supervision in their areas.

Wisconsin could benefit from similar endeavors, Dickey said.

On the negative side, Minnesota judges have little sentencing discretion due
to grid-based guidelines that determine sanctions based on factors including
the crime and prior offenses, Dickey said. The state was able to achieve a
minimal prison population by creating a formula that diverts only the most
serious offenders into prison custody.

Still, stronger judicial guidelines rather than stringent formulas could
likely accomplish the same goals, he said.

On the positive side, collaboration between the state and its counties
spurred creative and effective programs. As part of the state's community
corrections act, counties that opt in are given a sum of money to handle
corrections in any way they see fit. When defendants are sent to prison, it
comes out of that sum, meaning counties are more likely to seek
cost-effective alternatives, Dickey said.

"It's a very useful thing to try to merge accountability with financial
responsibility," Dickey said. "In Minnesota, it has had the positive effect
of seeding innovation that we badly need here."

Winnebago County officials found inspiration in two particular programs.

Dakota County, located southeast of the Minneapolis area, works in
collaboration with local counseling and treatment services as part of its
Safe Streets First initiative for repeat drunken drivers. Defendants pay for
most of the costs. It includes monitoring, treatment, random alcohol
screening and discipline including jail stays for those who don't comply.

The Dakota County Jail has been able to lessen recidivism and maintain
minimal jail populations through a series of programs from faith-based
initiatives to drug treatment and parenting classes.

Phil Drazkowski, program coordinator for the Dakota County jail, said the
slate of program offerings was put together based on what research has shown
to be successful. During a January meeting with the Winnebago County Board
of Supervisors, he pointed to 54 studies on the benefits of treatment in
reducing recidivism, along with research citing the benefits of education,
employment and parental training in correcting criminal behavior.

The efforts have shown results. Dakota County is more than double the size
of Winnebago, but it still maintains a smaller average daily jail
population.

Those working with the Safe Streets First program said they've seen
behaviors change among repeat drunken drivers as result of their efforts.

Anita Kennedy, a probation agent for Dakota County, said their program is
also research based. Studies have shown that sanctions alone don't get
through to repeat drunken drivers. Safe Streets includes a combination of
sanctions, accountability measures and treatment.

"We looked at the things that didn't work in the past and then we looked at
what's proven to work," Kennedy said. "It's a combination of things, and
they have worked for us."

Program coordinator Matt Johnson said that within a year or two of
graduation, recidivism among program participants doesn't differ much from
those who didn't participate. But as time goes on, fewer of the program
graduates re-offend.

A 1995 study conducted by the National Highway Transportation Safety
Administration found that about one third of those arrested or convicted of
drunken driving had a prior offense. A three-year follow-up study conducted
by Safe Streets First found that 20 percent had alcohol-related traffic
offenses after violation.

While not everyone responds, treatment is a necessary component to stopping
repeat drunken drivers, Johnson said.

"The most recent research is showing us that those with two or more DWIs
have a high likelihood of getting that third, fourth or fifth if there isn't
an intervention," he said.

Could we do it here?

Innovation and successes of community correctional programs doesn't mean
Minnesota isn't confronted with serious issues.

Minnesota led the nation with its 13.2 percent prison population growth from
June 2003 to June 2004, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Jerry Krause, director of the criminal justice program at St. Paul's Hamline
University, said the spread of methamphetamine production has had a role in
driving up prison populations. Sexual offenders could also push
incarceration rates higher based on fallout from the high-profile 2003
abduction, rape and murder of 22-year-old Dru Sjodin, Krause said.

State officials are now discussing expanding Minnesota's prison system.

But Krause suspects Minnesota will continue to have one of the country's
lowest incarceration rates. Infrastructure and a philosophy geared toward
community-based corrections remains strong for most types of offenses, he
said.

Dickey said Wisconsin law would prohibit mandated sentencing guidelines,
though legislative action like Minnesota's community corrections act could
work within the state's truth-in-sentencing law. More frequent use of
community corrections is sorely needed, he said.

"We have such an imbalance toward prisons that it really weakened community
corrections, and I think a lot of judges lost confidence," he said.

Still, some innovative efforts to reform offenders outside the confines of
jail or prison are occurring.

Drug treatment court programs are now operating in six Wisconsin counties.
La Crosse County has a justice sanctions program with components for
offenses including drunken driving, drugs and domestic abuse. A number of
counties utilize a variety of restorative justice programs such as victim
and offender conferencing, teen courts and victim impact panels in effort to
reduce recidivism.

Substance abuse treatment for criminal convicts is also poised to expand
within the prison system in upcoming years.

Gov. Jim Doyle's proposed budget would nearly double the size of the
correction department's early-release drug treatment program, and create
drug treatment facilities at the Racine and Taycheedah correctional
institutions.

Some believe prison treatment and early release programming isn't enough.

Rev. Joseph Ellwanger, co-chairman of Wisconsin's Treatment Instead of
Prison public education campaign, wonders why Wisconsin doesn't more fully
embrace lessons from Minnesota's experiences.

Ellwanger said Wisconsin could benefit from Minnesota's example by better
assessing defendants and crafting sentences that address needs outside the
prison walls.

"If it's not a violent crime and there's no real threat to the community,
lets push that person and demand that person address their issues and let's
deal with them in the community," he said.
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