SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY

LENGTH: 2454 words

HEADLINE: TESTIMONY March 27, 2000 MARTIN J. O'MALLY MAYOR HOUSE GOVERNMENT REFORM GOVERNMENT MANAGEMENT, INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY INCARCERATION ALTERNATIVES

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March 27, 2000 Mayor Martin J. O'Malley House Committee on Government Reform, Subcommittee on Criminal Justice, Drug Policy and Human Resources Mr. Chairman, distinguished Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to address this topic, "Alternatives to Incarceration: What Works and Why?," which is of great importance to our city. Congressman Cummings, I would like to thank you for making this hearing possible. During the mayoral campaign this past summer, the people of Baltimore made very clear that reducing crime was their top concern. We heard them loud and clear. In the three months our Administration has been in office, we have made public safety our top concern. In short order, we have: -Eliminated the rotation of homicide detectives to end the brain drain that dramatically reduced the clearance rate of our once vaunted squad; -Moved detectives out of headquarters and into neighborhoods to improve intelligence and follow-up; -Audited arrest records to get a true gauge of our city's crime problem; - Replaced our police department's leadership and reorganized its structure; and -Instituted Comstat citywide, to anticipate and prevent crime, rather than reacting after its too late. Additionally, we have provided additional resources to the State's Attorney to better prosecute more violent offenders. And we've worked with the Judiciary to implement reforms to restore real justice and a sense of priorities to our criminal justice system, by consolidating the current process of charging, bail, pre-trial determination, bail review and initial plea offers into one simultaneous event. Instead of a minimum of 32 days, this will soon occur within twenty-four hours of arrest. These changes will make time for the serious prosecution of violent offenders, making use of Maryland's strict mandatory minimum laws - which are now rarely enforced. We have tried to do a great deal in a short period of time. I'd like to read a few recent quotes from the Baltimore Sun that characterize some of our initial successes - these are news articles, not editorials or columns: "Three blocks from the Pennsylvania Avenue bustle - where blocks once lined with scores of addicts and street peddlers are now peppered with shoppers - Druid Heights behavior. Instead of limiting our efforts, we need to step them up on several fronts. In order to break this cycle of crime and addiction, we must build a seamless system of law enforcement, drug testing, sanctions and treatment. Treatment Breaks The Cycle of Crime and Addiction Given the concentration of addicts and increasingly consistent law enforcement efforts, without effective treatment, we will continually recycle people through the criminal justice system. A lot of people are doing life sentences on the installment plan. A 1995 report indicated that Baltimore City accounted for 64.4 percent of new commitments to the state prisons, while accounting for only 14. percent of the state population. In Baltimore, we are creating a large permanently unemployable underclass of people by not trying to intervene early in a career of crime and addiction. Offenders compile arrest upon arrest, conviction upon conviction, and prison sentence upon prison sentence. A study by the Center for Substance Abuse Research found that Maryland saves almost $20,000 in social costs (such as incarceration, medical care, lost productivity, injury and death) for every addict who receives treatment. Baltimore has one of the worst drug problems in the country - particularly with heroin. We cannot afford not to have the most comprehensive treatment program possible. And court-ordered drug treatment must be made a more viable option. Offenders arrested for minor offenses, should be screened for illegal drugs at time of arrest. If their records are relatively clear, as an alternative to the usual court track, they should be directed into drug treatment that is strictly monitored and is lengthy enough to properly treat the addiction - anywhere from one year to eighteen months. Supervision should be carried out by both pre- trial release and by addictions counselors employed by the criminal justice system. If done in two tiers, first-time and minor offenders might even be diverted before criminal charges are lodged, and, if treatment is successful, the underlying criminal allegation could be dismissed. If an offender's record is more substantial, but doesn't indicate the person is a risk to public safety, they too might be sentenced to treatment, with their freedom subject to successful completion and the conviction remaining on their record. In both cases, society benefits by treating an addiction that will - if left unattended - invariably contribute to more crime. Additionally, a reduction in pre-trial detention bed-days and incarceration bed-days after convictions will save taxpayer dollars. The public is protected because the sanction of jail time remains if a non-violent offender fails to complete treatment or commits another crime. This system will leave more room in jail, and more time in court, for dealing with violent offenders. There are two efforts underway in Baltimore that incorporate such an approach, which have achieved some initial success in reducing recidivism. They are the Drug Treatment Court programs, which keeps 600 addicts under court supervision, and "Break the Cycle," which uses probation agents to enforce increased drug testing and heightened supervision of offenders. Finally, we also are hopeful that, through your leadership, the federal government will make drug treatment a budget priority. Drug addiction and drug-related crime are critical concerns in cities, counties and small towns across America. Drugs are a national problem. - Conclusion Drugs and crime are inextricably linked. We cannot address one in Baltimore without addressing the other. To succeed in permanently stopping the killing in Baltimore, and starting a healing process that will last and bring hope to the city, we must strive to identify and refer for treatment, early in the court process, all offenders whose substance abuse problems drive their behavior. Additionally, the city's drug problem presents serious workforce problems for the city's employers, and hinders economic development and business recruiting efforts throughout the region. It also creates health problems, including AIDS, hepatitis and sexually transmitted diseases, in which Baltimore is, unfortunately, among the nation's leaders. And more than half of the city's homeless population suffers from an addiction. For too long, in Baltimore and, presumably, many other cities, accountability has been lacking in all aspects of out city's anti- drug system - starting with the government's responsibility to keep law abiding citizens safe from the violence associated with the drug trade, and extending to the city's responsibility to help addicts break the destructive cycle of crime and drug abuse by every means at our disposal. But the solution is not to stop funding treatment, or deny that it is a useful alternative to incarceration. The answer is to demand and document results. While we should route more drug offenders into treatment rather than jail, we must make real and immediate the threat of jail sentences upon relapse to ensure that offenders stay in their programs and remain clean. There is nothing compassionate about imposing suspended sentence after suspended sentence on an addicted offender whose criminal behavior is crying out for help. Ultimately, our criminal justice system exists for one primary reason - to protect the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of law-abiding citizens from criminals who, in some way, seek to harm them. It exists to maintain public safety. If solutions other than incarceration meet that high standard of protection, then we should pursue them. Drug treatment - when strictly monitored, with escalating sanctions - protects the public by preventing future societal costs, including crime. In some cases, community service also works well to send a message to wrongdoers. The results of such measures are quantifiable. The primary indicator of success is a significant reduction in the rate of violent crime. Another, equally important, goal is to enhance the sense of safety perceived by residents, commuters and visitors, which can be measured by complaints to the mayor, police department, city council members, state legislators and Members of Congress. This is the course we are pursuing in Baltimore. Thank you for the opportunity to address this distinguished panel.

LOAD-DATE: April 6, 2000, Thursday