Crossing the Bridge
 In
CASA’s 1998 report,
Behind Bars:
Substance Abuse and America’s Prison Population,
CASA found that 80 percent of all adults incarcerated for
felonies either had regularly used illegal drugs or abused
alcohol, been convicted of a drug or alcohol violation, were
under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol at the time of their
crime, committed a crime to support their habit, or exhibited
some combination of these characteristics. Of the nearly $30
billion states spent on adult corrections (incarceration,
probation, and parole), $24.1 billion of it was on
substance-involved offenders.
The key to reducing crime, the prison population and the
enormous associated costs is to reduce the substance abuse among
offenders. The Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison (DTAP)
Program in Brooklyn, New York gives every indication of doing
just this with some of the most difficult offenders who have not
been convicted of violent crimes--repeat felony offenders who
are addicted to substances such as heroin, crack and powder
cocaine, and who have already spent an average of four years
behind bars.
Developed by Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes in
1990 in response to the number of drug-addicted offenders in
Kings County, the DTAP program provides 15- to 24- months of
drug treatment in a residential therapeutic community with
clearly established rules of conduct, timetables and goals. The
program is open to addicts who have repeatedly sold drugs, have
not been convicted of a violent crime, are willing to engage in
treatment and communal living, do not have a history of violence
or severe mental disorder, and are facing a mandatory prison
sentence.
DTAP is a promising
example of what law enforcement can do to reduce the number of
addicted drug offenders in America’s prisons. It
demonstrates the importance of being tough on crime in the right
way--using the stick of enforcement to hold people accountable
for their crimes and to get them to enter and stay in treatment.
The immediacy and certainty of punishment for noncompliance
appear to be key factors in achieving success. Most
significantly, DTAP demonstrates that we should not write off
repeat, drug-involved offenders.
CASA Report on
Model to reduce costs related to incarceration and substance
abuse
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