Ending the revolving door
October 3, 2007
IT MAKES little sense to keep putting someone in jail for drug crimes and the like, if their root problem is not a bent toward criminality, but a mental health issue.
The newly formed Chatham-Savannah Mental Health Court recognizes an important fact: Directing repeat offenders who may be helped by treatment to a care facility instead of a jail cell is a better deal not only for the offender, but also for taxpayers.
It’s a better deal for the offender because, even though the conditions of their probation are stringent, the program is geared toward helping the person maintain a healthy, productive lifestyle, and avoid future run-ins with the law.
For taxpayers, a major benefit is that the nonviolent offenders screened for eligibility in the program are more likely to be providing their own food and housing, working and paying taxes. In short, pulling their own weight. That’s a big contrast to the expense of providing mental health care in a prison setting.
A second major benefit for citizens in general is that if this fledgling program - modeled after other successful “therapeutic courts” in Chatham County such as drug and DUI courts - can make a real difference in the lives of the repeat offenders it hopes to help, then all those who might have been future victims will be spared the trouble.
What’s more, keeping nonviolent defendants from serving potentially long prison sentences for repeat offenses will mean less strain on an already overcrowded prison system.
The program is made possible through the cooperation of a team of prosecutors, public defenders, probation officers, law enforcement officers and treatment facilities, all working under the direction of Superior Court Judge Penny Haas Freesemann.
The mental health court calls on defendants to undergo a five-step plan, aimed at helping them understand their mental illness and begin a recovery plan, conduct a thorough self-evaluation, implement coping tools, and strengthen their commitment to sobriety and integration into the community.
The hope is that those in the program will be able to step out of the revolving door of mental health episodes, followed by run-ins with the law, followed by little or no support once they are released from incarceration.
Judge Freesemann’s mental health court, which began Sept. 20, is operating on a shoestring budget from a federal grant. But if the court fulfills its purpose of cutting down on recidivism, then local and state governments should also consider helping to fund the court operations and treatment services needed to help the program grow and be successful.
It will be an investment not only toward improved mental health for the participants, but also toward improved peace of mind for community members who might otherwise have been crime victims.
The program is geared toward helping the person maintain a healthy, productive lifestyle, and avoid future run-ins with the law.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.