WurfWhile

Here’s a proposal: we can save money, decrease crime and improve people’s lives by expanding a program. Here’s a question: can DuPage County afford $35,000 a year in the budget to do it? Members of the DuPage County Board aren’t sure.

In a recent meeting of the DuPage County Board, Board Member Grant Eckhoff (R-Wheaton) indicated expanding the Drug Court was going to be a “challenge when the budget comes up.” My response, my friends, is it really doesn’t get much easier than this; we just aren’t talking rocket science.

The DuPage Drug Court program is designed for non-violent offenders with a felony pending, and currently has 108 adults participating. The proposed expansion would require a third probation officer (at $35,000) to expand the program to as many as 200 participants at a time.

Facts and Figures

Costs of Traditional Method (conviction and incarceration)

- State cost of imprisoning each drug offender an average of $23,812 per year in 2002.
- Cost of imprisonment in the DuPage County Jail per day is about $107.00. *
- Recidivism rate (committing a future crime once out of jail) about 45%.
- Future costs in crimes against property and persons, plus future jailing costs for current convicts released (varies, but about 45% of those released will commit another crime, and many will serve longer sentences in jail in the future).

Costs of Drug Court Method (treatment, counseling and probation)

- DuPage County cost of a third probation officer is $35,000 to increase participation capacity from about 130 to 200 individuals at a time.
- Cost to DuPage County of treatment dollars for program participants about $1,500 each. *
- Additional costs to the state of any additional treatment necessary (varies)
- Length of Drug Court program is a minimum of two years.

Savings of Drug Courts

- Studies show Drug Courts reduce recidivism compared to traditional conviction and incarceration approaches by 17 - 40%.
- Increasing the number of productive, law-abiding, tax-paying citizens in our community (varies, but we’ll have 17 - 40% more of those currently convicted and in the program fitting this description).

Notes:
* Personal communication with Robin Partin, Program Coordinator for the DuPage County Drug Court

I recognize that not every applicant is suitable for the Drug Court program, but giving every appropriate applicant a chance is a no-brainer. Every success story saves DuPage taxpayers money in state and local taxes, increases the safety of their person and property, and helps create more productive members of our society. Beyond being the right thing to do – it’s really quite a deal!

It is time for DuPage County to take the lead in alternatives to incarceration. We played catch-up in developing the Drug Court a couple years ago, falling behind surrounding communities that better recognized their own self-interest. Now the DuPage County Board debates whether they can find $35,000 to expand a program that will help our community and save it money. Where is their common sense? If they can continue to sink taxpayer millions into a county airport that everyone has agreed should be self-sufficient, surely they can spend enough for a single salary that will save taxpayers money long-term, make our community safer and help individuals overcome the horror of drug addiction. Where are the DuPage County Board’s priorities?