MAHONING COUNTY Drug court's aim: break addiction cycle

The court is under the supervision of Judge Theresa Dellick.
By STEPHEN SIFF
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
CANFIELD -- Closer ties between the criminal justice system and drug treatment programs is the key to pushing the addict out of a life of crime, said officials at the opening ceremony for Mahoning County Misdemeanor Drug Court.
"If you look at the impact of addicts in our criminal justice system, this is what needs to happen," said Michael Stringer, chief of the division of judicial services at the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services.
He said that 30 percent of the people entering prison are being sent there for drug-related offenses and that 75 percent of the convicts are addicts.
If these people are not cured of their addiction, they will continue to commit crimes, he and others said.
Monitors progress: The misdemeanor drug court closely monitors the progress of convicts it places in treatment programs. The court uses the threat of prison or jail time to pressure convicts to take part in treatment.
"We know that if we keep people in treatment programs long enough, we can be successful 70 or 80 percent of the time," Stringer said. "The drug court helps in that process."
The misdemeanor court, run by Judge Theresa Dellick in Canfield, has been in operation for four weeks and has six cases. It is sponsored by a two-year, $500,000 grant, but Ohio Supreme Court Justice Evelyn Stratton, on hand for the ceremony, said it will save money by breaking "the cycle of addiction."
Freeing an addict from a repeated pattern of drug-related crime and prison not only saves a life but reduces costs to society and the criminal justice system, Justice Stratton said.
Successes: Of the 58 convicts who finished the Mahoning County Common Pleas Drug Court, which is 3 years old, none has been rearrested, she said.
"This is entirely successful and speaks for itself," she said.
One of the program graduates, Stuart Chester of Boardman, credits the program with turning his life around. He said he was convicted of a variety of gun and drug charges about 18 months ago.
"I didn't have a problem, I just had a bad habit, but they helped me realize that the problem was within me," he said.