The court report
Addressing the addiction epidemic
Forrest Thompson
I am writing to provide some insight on the merits of drug courts from my prospective as county prosecutor.
I did a recent review of the status of felony cases filed by my office since January 2017. Of the almost 400 felony cases already filed, over a third of them were drug possession cases. The majority of these cases involved opiates. This statistic does not include the other felony cases which were perpetrated by drug seekers or otherwise related to drug abuse and addiction. Clearly, drug addiction is at the root of the bulk of criminal activity in our county.
For years we, like county prosecutor’s everywhere, adopted a “get tough policy” believing conviction and incarceration would fix the problem. It didn’t. This realization along with the increasing addiction epidemic forced us to reevaluate our response to the drug problem and helped give rise to numerous alternatives including the drug court system.
The drug court administered by Judge Joyce Kimbler brings various offices and agencies into a single, team-minded approach to evaluate and develop a plan for each person enrolled in the court while at the same time enforcing the person’s accountability for their own actions. The court provides the resources to address the underlying addiction issue, not just the criminality of the defendant.
Make no mistake, this is no “feel good session” for those enrolled. This is a real court setting with real expectations and real consequences for those who fail to take the court seriously. Incarceration is always there as a last resort, but treatment, recovery and accountability take the place of punishment as the first priority under the drug court system and the drop in the recidivism rate suggests that the system is working.
From my perspective, I strongly support and advocate the drug court system as a positive and successful alternative to prosecution and incarceration. That is why I assigned an assistant county prosecutor to serve on the drug court team and also why we evaluate each drug related case for acceptance in the program as soon as it is filed.
In summary, Medina County, like every other county in Ohio, faces a serious drug addiction problem. We cannot merely arrest or prosecute our way out of this problem. The answer lies in bringing all services and disciplines to bear against the problem. The drug court system has shown a positive and successful way to address the addiction of the person and hold them accountable at the same time.
I did a recent review of the status of felony cases filed by my office since January 2017. Of the almost 400 felony cases already filed, over a third of them were drug possession cases. The majority of these cases involved opiates. This statistic does not include the other felony cases which were perpetrated by drug seekers or otherwise related to drug abuse and addiction. Clearly, drug addiction is at the root of the bulk of criminal activity in our county.
For years we, like county prosecutor’s everywhere, adopted a “get tough policy” believing conviction and incarceration would fix the problem. It didn’t. This realization along with the increasing addiction epidemic forced us to reevaluate our response to the drug problem and helped give rise to numerous alternatives including the drug court system.
The drug court administered by Judge Joyce Kimbler brings various offices and agencies into a single, team-minded approach to evaluate and develop a plan for each person enrolled in the court while at the same time enforcing the person’s accountability for their own actions. The court provides the resources to address the underlying addiction issue, not just the criminality of the defendant.
Make no mistake, this is no “feel good session” for those enrolled. This is a real court setting with real expectations and real consequences for those who fail to take the court seriously. Incarceration is always there as a last resort, but treatment, recovery and accountability take the place of punishment as the first priority under the drug court system and the drop in the recidivism rate suggests that the system is working.
From my perspective, I strongly support and advocate the drug court system as a positive and successful alternative to prosecution and incarceration. That is why I assigned an assistant county prosecutor to serve on the drug court team and also why we evaluate each drug related case for acceptance in the program as soon as it is filed.
In summary, Medina County, like every other county in Ohio, faces a serious drug addiction problem. We cannot merely arrest or prosecute our way out of this problem. The answer lies in bringing all services and disciplines to bear against the problem. The drug court system has shown a positive and successful way to address the addiction of the person and hold them accountable at the same time.