JJT
10-22-2004, 11:27 PM
Black groups urge treatment, not prison, for drug abusers
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With more black men in jail than in higher education, the coalition seeks a change in policy.
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By Daina Klimanis
Inquirer Washington Bureau
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WASHINGTON - Dissatisfied with drug policies that keep a large number of black men in the prison system, a new coalition of black professional organizations called yesterday for drug policies that focus on prevention and treatment.
The National African American Drug Policy Coalition is promoting what it calls therapeutic sentencing, in which judges require those convicted of some drug crimes to undergo treatment instead of being given jail time. The group also aims to provide mentoring of schoolchildren by black professionals to prevent drug use.
The Washington-based coalition consists of the National Bar Association and nine other black professional groups, including the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc., the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, and the National Dental Association.
Clyde Bailey Sr., past president of the National Bar Association and founder of the coalition, noted that the number of black men in jail exceeded the number of black men in higher education.
In 2000, 791,600 black men were in the prison system, while 603,032 were enrolled in a college or university, according to a 2002 study by the Justice Policy Institute, a research group promoting alternatives to incarceration. By contrast, there were three times as many blacks in higher education as in the prison system in 1980.
"We found that if we looked behind the data, drug abuse was a key reason the numbers were so high, so we decided to pull together a coalition to address this," Bailey said.
The coalition will encourage tough sentencing of those who sell drugs but will attempt to turn the focus and funding of drug policy toward public health, said the coalition's executive director, Arthur L. Burnett Sr., a retired senior judge from Washington.
According to a 2001 report by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, less than 11 percent of state prison inmates receive substance-abuse treatment, although 70 to 80 percent could gain from it. Treatment reduces drug use by 40 to 60 percent, the agency found.
The education and treatment approach, which seeks to minimize the role of law enforcement in drug policy, has the backing of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
Seven U.S. cities are targeted for the coalition's pilot programs in prevention and therapeutic sentencing: Chicago; Huntsville, Ala.; Flint, Mich.; Seattle; Baltimore; Washington; and a yet-to-be-determined city in the Virgin Islands.
[/url]
With more black men in jail than in higher education, the coalition seeks a change in policy.
(http://www.philly.com/images/common/spacer.gif)
By Daina Klimanis
Inquirer Washington Bureau
[url="http://www.philly.com/images/common/spacer.gif"] (http://www.philly.com/images/common/spacer.gif)
WASHINGTON - Dissatisfied with drug policies that keep a large number of black men in the prison system, a new coalition of black professional organizations called yesterday for drug policies that focus on prevention and treatment.
The National African American Drug Policy Coalition is promoting what it calls therapeutic sentencing, in which judges require those convicted of some drug crimes to undergo treatment instead of being given jail time. The group also aims to provide mentoring of schoolchildren by black professionals to prevent drug use.
The Washington-based coalition consists of the National Bar Association and nine other black professional groups, including the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation Inc., the National Black Caucus of State Legislators, and the National Dental Association.
Clyde Bailey Sr., past president of the National Bar Association and founder of the coalition, noted that the number of black men in jail exceeded the number of black men in higher education.
In 2000, 791,600 black men were in the prison system, while 603,032 were enrolled in a college or university, according to a 2002 study by the Justice Policy Institute, a research group promoting alternatives to incarceration. By contrast, there were three times as many blacks in higher education as in the prison system in 1980.
"We found that if we looked behind the data, drug abuse was a key reason the numbers were so high, so we decided to pull together a coalition to address this," Bailey said.
The coalition will encourage tough sentencing of those who sell drugs but will attempt to turn the focus and funding of drug policy toward public health, said the coalition's executive director, Arthur L. Burnett Sr., a retired senior judge from Washington.
According to a 2001 report by the Office of National Drug Control Policy, less than 11 percent of state prison inmates receive substance-abuse treatment, although 70 to 80 percent could gain from it. Treatment reduces drug use by 40 to 60 percent, the agency found.
The education and treatment approach, which seeks to minimize the role of law enforcement in drug policy, has the backing of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives.
Seven U.S. cities are targeted for the coalition's pilot programs in prevention and therapeutic sentencing: Chicago; Huntsville, Ala.; Flint, Mich.; Seattle; Baltimore; Washington; and a yet-to-be-determined city in the Virgin Islands.