NCJ Number
144027
Date Published
1992
Length
35 pages
Annotation
From January to March 1992, the State Justice Institute's Courts Technical Assistance Project (CTAP) worked with the Chief Judge of the First Judicial Circuit of Florida to develop a special drug offender treatment program in Escambia and Okaloosa Counties, Florida. In April 1992, CTAP staff and two experienced consultants made a site visit.
Abstract
CTAP recommended that casual users, but not small- quantity drug sellers, be eligible for the special program. There was no consensus on the latter, but the prevailing rationale was that offender populations should be chosen based on likelihood of success. The addictive tendencies of casual users and others who have not made the quantum leap into selling are likely less ingrained than those of sellers. All parties agreed that nonviolent, addicted arrestees charged with drug possession should be included. Further recommendations were that intervention should take place immediately after arrest, and that violent offenders and those with significant prior criminal histories should be excluded. Finally, CTAP recommends that a coalition against substance abuse be formed among such community entities as courts, law enforcement and corrections agencies, the workplace, schools, and neighborhood and religious organizations.