GA's top judge says more work needed in drug courts

The state's top judge challenged a group of state lawmakers today to broaden their approach when it comes to reducing drug and alcohol related crimes.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears congratulated those gathered for the third annual drug court conference for successfully keeping more than 3,500 people out of prison.

The state's drug and DUI courts have a repeat offender rate of approximately 17 percent. The national repeat offender rate is close to fifty percent.

Sears, however, tempered her words with a bit of a challenge. "We're reaching only a small fraction of the people who are arrested every year for drug possession. Your challenge is to apply the model to all offenders who can benefit."

But Judge Kent Lawrence, who heads up a drug and DUI court in Athens-Clark County, says the program isn't as easy as it sounds. "I spend a lot of my time trying to talk the offenders out of coming into our dui-drug program. It would be easier for them to serve 12 months in jail than have to put up with me for two years."

Lawrence says the program works because it targets the addiction rather than the crime.

There are more than 50 drug courts scattered throughout the state. Some programs last up to two years, and all use a team approach with therapists and counselors.