Support and Encouragement for the Development of Drug Court Systems that Permit Judicial Discretion, When Appropriate
WHEREAS, the drug problem is related to most of North America’s criminal activity, as exemplified by the statistic that some 50-80 percent of arrestees in major cities test positive for drugs at the time of their arrest; and
WHEREAS, the U.S. Bureau of Drug Statistics has estimated that 150,000 state inmates are released each year without receiving needed drug treatment; and
WHEREAS, experts in the field have concluded that probationers and parolees constitute the hard core of dangerous addicts. Reducing their demand for drugs ought to be our highest priority; and
WHEREAS, researchers estimate that more than 50 percent of defendants convicted of a drug possession will go back to crime within two to three years, while less than 30 percent of drug court graduates return to crime during the same period; and
WHEREAS, the General Accounting Office has reported that 71 percent of all offenders entering drug courts have completed a program or have remained in one, more than double the success of traditional treatment programs; and
WHEREAS, drug courts succeed only if judges retain the discretion to impose progressive sanctions, where appropriate; and
WHEREAS, it is believed that this program has the proven ability to reduce drug abuse and drug-related crime, prevent recidivism, decrease the cost of adjudicating drug offenders, and restore lives; and,
WHEREAS, an effective treatment system, by reducing the demand for drugs, is a natural ally of strong enforcement; now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED, that the International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), duly assembled at its 109th Annual Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota, urges its members to support and encourage development of those drug court systems that provide accountability through judicial discretion to impose sanctions directed at non-violent offenders with drug addiction problems.