__________________________________________Ask the DA
 

    Not necessarily. All too often, substance abuse and criminal behavior are linked. In order to address this issue, in 1990, I launched the Drug Treatment Alternative-to-Prison (DTAP) program. The purpose of this program is to divert substance abusing, repeat felony offenders away from prison and into treatment.  Public safety is always a priority, and offenders with a history of violence are not eligible for the program. 

    Qualified defendants must first enter a guilty plea.   The next step is participation in a residential drug treatment program for 18-24 months instead of going to prison.  Those who successfully complete DTAP have their charges dismissed; those who fail are sentenced to prison. To prevent relapse and reduce recidivism, DTAP has a job developer to assist graduates in finding and maintaining employment. 

    As of February 1, 2007, 992 people had completed the program and 392 are presently in treatment.  Ninety-one percent of DTAP's graduates who are able to work are employed. DTAP is highly cost effective.  Our analysis of the savings realized on corrections, health care, public assistance and recidivism costs - combined with the tax revenues generated by the DTAP graduates - reveals that DTAP has resulted in economic benefits of $39.3 million dollars. 

    In 2003, the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University completed a five-year evaluation of DTAP and endorsed the program as “a promising example of what law enforcement can do to reduce the number of addicted drug offenders in America’s prisons.” 

    Incarceration is appropriate for violent drug dealers who exploit addicted individuals, recruit youngsters and terrorize neighborhoods.  My office prosecutes those drug dealers vigorously to ensure that they get the prison sentences they deserve. DTAP ensures that addicts get the treatment they need. 

    One DTAP graduate said it best: “I was a chemically-dependent, non-productive social liability.  Now I am a law-abiding, tax-paying asset to our country.”