Indiana’s court
system recently crossed an important milestone. It didn’t occur with a
lot fanfare, but the occasion was an important one in the fight against
ills that have resulted in too-early obituaries and overflowing jails.
The
Indiana Office of Court Services announced the opening of the state’s
100th problem-solving court, in Pulaski County. Instead of going before a
judge to argue evidence, prosecutors and defense lawyers there will
work side-by-side with counselors and others to assist military veterans
who want help with substance abuse and mental health issues. Instead of
going to jail for their crimes, they will be given a fighting chance at
rehabilitation and becoming productive members of society.
In
Hancock County, we already have seen the value of these problem-solving
courts, which are now in 50 counties. We have one of the first ones ever
established, Hancock County Drug Court, started in 2004 by then-Judge
Richard Culver of Hancock Circuit Court. His successor, Judge Scott
Sirk, has built on the program along with the drug court coordinator,
Beth Ingle.
Drug court — like all the problem-solving courts —
attempts to short-circuit the cycle that burdens the criminal justice
system: recidivism. Many people in the Hancock County Jail today have
been there before. Without some kind of intervention — a sound strategy
that interdicts that likelihood to repeat past mistakes — they’ll likely
wind up there again.
That’s why problem-solving courts such as
Hancock County Drug Court are so important. Upwards of 80 percent of the
people who “graduate” from the program here do not continue a life of
crime in the three years their cases are tracked after they leave, Ingle
told the Daily Reporter for a story last fall. They largely embrace
their recovery and work to become good citizens.
People in the
program — numbering 20 or so at any one time — meet frequently with a
team of advisers that include counselors, probation officers, community
corrections officials, lawyers and Sirk. Rather than negotiating plea
agreements and handing down sentences, they talk about life’s challenges
and how to confront them.
Like any similar program, it’s not
perfect, and it’s not for everyone. Relapses or new crimes force out
about half of enrollees. Some defendants calculate that doing jail time
is better than two years of closely supervised oversight. But every
success story means that’s one less person taking up space in jail. More
importantly, it means a life has been changed positively.
Sirk
would like to expand the problem-solving courts here. He envisions a
veterans court like the one established recently in Pulaski County, and
he also talks about establishing a mental health court, of which only
seven exist in the state. In a county where ready access to mental
health care is woeful, that should be a priority.