With so many people entering the criminal justice system on drug-related crimes, Centre County law enforcement officials are beginning to steer away from the “punitive approach” and move more in the direction of rehabilitation.
“We need to remove this stigma that drug addicts are bad people,” said Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller. “Then, and only then, are the people who need help the most going to come out and ask for it.
“We have the programs and the methods to help cure this addiction, and that’s exactly what it is. Sure, there is crime related to heroin and opioids, but now it’s become a disease and its affecting the entire community.”
In the first two months of 2017, the Centre County coroner reported five local residents died due to opioid overdoses. With last year’s total at 21 drug-related deaths, the five in the first two months of this year puts the rate at 60 deaths projected for 2017 if things do not change.
The answer is rehab, not lockup, officials say.
“We’ve learned pretty quickly that just locking up addicts is not the answer,” said Gene Lauri, Centre County’s criminal justice planning director. “They do their time and get out, use again, get caught and come right back in to serve more time. All that does is give them a little break from the life they are stuck in. As soon as they get out, they go right back to it.”
Instead, Lauri said addicts and drug abusers sentenced by a judge on criminal charges should be persuaded to become involved in programs offered not only by the local correctional facilities, but also by the myriad of service providers in Centre County.
GOING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION
“We can’t treat someone’s addiction here at the jail,” Lauri said. “But what we can do is get them going in the right direction to be a contributing member of society again. We can get them some initial counseling while they are incarcerated, but when they leave our facility, they need to continue a treatment plan. Otherwise, they’ll be coming right back in.”
Pamela Ruest, a common pleas judge in Centre County, agreed with Lauri.
“Jail isn’t the answer,” she said. “Treatment is.”
Ruest will oversee Centre County’s newest weapon against the heroin and opioid epidemic with the opening of a drug court in October. The court will target offenders likely to reuse illicit substances.
Ruest said she has been taking the heroin and opioid problem into consideration while dictating sentences. Parks Miller said she has also been seeking more rehabilitative sentencing.
“We still want to prosecute the pushers and get as much of these drugs off the streets of Centre County,” said Parks Miller. “We have a very aggressive drug task force here that has its ears on the ground.”
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