United States Senate
Senate Committee on the Judiciary
Hearing entitled:
“Treatment, Education and Prevention: Adding to the Arsenal in the War on Drugs”
Testimony by: A. James Walton, Jr., Commissioner
Department of Public Safety, State of Vermont
Wednesday, March 14, 2001, 10:00 am
Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am James Walton, Commissioner of Public Safety, for the State of Vermont. I speak to you in that role as head of the Vermont State Police, but I have also served as the Commissioner of Corrections in Vermont, as well.
I will limit my remarks to the sections of the bill that are most relevant to Vermont.
In today’s world, no “war” could be won solely on the backs of just a well trained, well equipped Army. Rather it would require an equally well trained, well equipped Navy and Air Force in order to successfully conduct such a war.
I think a similar analogy could be applied to the “war” on drugs. Simply put the “war” on drugs cannot be won on the backs of just a well resourced and determined law enforcement community, rather a “victory” in the war on drugs will require the efforts of an equally well resourced and determined prevention and treatment community.
Drug prevention and treatment are crucial to eliminating the growing heroin problem facing us in Vermont. Police officers often tell me that there needs to be a treatment program for people in the criminal justice system with addictions. All too often a heroin addict is arrested and asks for help but there is none to give. The lack of treatment opportunities is talked about by prosecutors, probation officers and judges when they try and deal with the drug dependent offender. Our goals must be to offer treatment to all drug dependent persons in Vermont and prevent new addictions particularly among our youth.
The Drug Enforcement Problem in Vermont
Until recently, Vermonters have thought their children were safe from the ravages of heroin addiction. We were immune, somehow. The death of a 16-year-old Vermont girl in New York City, hooked on heroin and forced into prostitution to support her addiction, has changed the public perception, and focussed attention on what has been recognized by law enforcement, social, and health personnel as a growing crisis.
Heroin is in Vermont, and its abuse is becoming alarming. Our children and our families are vulnerable, and our communities are in danger of following in the footsteps of larger cities across America.
Vermont is a small (and beautiful) State that is seeing dramatic increases in heroin cases.
These statistics (see Appendix) reflect a 132% increase in arrests for heroin since 1998 and a 126% increase in youth involved in the use of heroin. I believe this is a startling statistic for a rural state with a population of 600,000 people. It would appear that heroin is rapidly becoming the drug of choice among our youth. The street quality of heroin is increasing, making it more readily useable and attractive (snorted vs. injected), and it is cheap.
We are also seeing violent crimes increasing, which we believe, is synonymous with our increased drug usage, particularly heroin use. Armed robberies have increased 36% in 2000 over the average for the previous five years. Between 1994-1999 Vermont averaged 78 armed robberies per year. In 2000 there were 106. Many of these robberies have been linked to heroin abuse. This increase cannot continue without people getting hurt or killed. Drug abusers can at times become desperate people.
Drug Treatment Issues in Vermont
The goal of treatment is to return the individual to productive functioning in the family, workplace and community. Measures of effectiveness typically include levels of criminal behavior, family functioning, employability, and medical condition. Overall, treatment of addiction is as successful as treatment of other chronic diseases, such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma. According to several studies, drug treatment reduces drug use by 40 to 60 percent and significantly decreases criminal activity during and after treatment. For example, a study of therapeutic community treatment for drug offenders demonstrated that arrests for violent and nonviolent criminal acts were reduced by 40 percent or more. Methadone treatment has been shown to decrease criminal behavior by as much 50 percent.[1].
The need for treatment is a concern for the State of Vermont. This incidence of drug dependency has risen suddenly, especially for our youth. In 1999, not one of the self-referrals to the University of Vermont Human Behavioral Psycho-Pharmacology clinic was under 25 years old. In the first two months of 2001, more than half of the self-referrals were under 21 years old! In that clinic alone the number of self-referrals of teenagers for heroin addiction has gone from zero in 1998 to 12 per month in 2001. The number of persons across the state seeking treatment for heroin abuse has doubled since 1997 (in Fiscal Year 1997 the number was 164; in FY2000, that number was 344). The fastest growing population of persons seeking treatment has been our youth with nearly six times as many youth self-referring in 2000 when compared to 1997[2].
The broad outlines of the policy approach
As much of the rest of the nation has learned, we cannot solve the drug problem by treating it as if it were simply and only a crime problem. Attempting to punish the drug user by applying the force of law is not working; a comprehensive approach focusing on prevention and treatment is the better solution. A strong enforcement effort that focuses on a zero tolerance policy should compliment the prevention and treatment efforts of other professions dealing with the addiction problem. The other components of the criminal justice system, courts and corrections should work closely with treatment providers in placing drug dependant persons in treatment where needed and incarcerate them (to include treatment) where appropriate.
As has been so graphically demonstrated, heroin is a poison that not only destroys the individual who is addicted, but does serious damage to family, friends, and community. It is a public health problem. It will, I believe, only succumb to a comprehensive strategy. This bill, the Drug Abuse Education, Prevention, and Treatment Act of 2001, is such a comprehensive approach.
The strength of this bill is that it attacks the dealers and the pushers with swift and sure incarceration, and at the same time provides treatment and reentry opportunities for offenders who are struggling to take responsibility for their lives and behavior. We know that in general, prison does little to make people better; indeed in all too many cases it makes people worse. At the same time, we know that they are returning to their homes and communities. It is incumbent on us, then, to do three things. One, we must keep out of prison, and into treatment, all those offenders who do not pose a threat to the public safety. Second, while they are in prison, it only makes sense to provide incentive and opportunity for offenders to participate in treatment, and simultaneously work to create drug-free prisons, so that the hard work of treatment is not undone upon return to the cellblock. Third, for those offenders who are leaving prison to return to live again in our communities, it is in our own self interest that they be prepared for reentry, provided with effective treatment programs, and support in the form of education, vocational training, jobs, and housing.
Those of us in Vermont law enforcement strongly support Title II of this bill, Drug-free Prisons and Jails, and Title VI, Federal Re-entry Projects. We believe that not only must we prepare the offender for release to the community (and they all do come home, some day), but that we must also prepare the community to receive the offender. Empowering the community to participate in the release preparation for the offender, and giving the community a role in ensuring offender accountability, participation in treatment, and activity in the community are all measures that not only improve the likelihood of offender success, but also provide the citizens of the neighborhood with a restored sense of control over the quality of life in their own back yards.
However, we also strongly believe that just making prisons drug-free, and focussing on treatment for the addicted is not enough. We believe that a large investment in prevention, before our youth become addicted to this drug, before the problem becomes criminal, are money well spent. Programs that divert offenders from repeat crime are of great cost-benefit, both fiscally and socially. So, Mr. Chairman, we in Vermont Law Enforcement support the use of Alternative Treatment instead of Prison, we support Treatment in Prison, and we support Reentry programs after Prison, and we strongly support a nationwide prevention effort.
This is not soft on crime. We not only enforce the law, we, too, live in Vermont. We have families here, and we know that the only way to be safe in our communities is to strengthen the capacity in the community to control its own destiny. This bill helps move in that direction, toward hope for success, and away from despair over the magnitude of the problem.
Thank you.
APPENDIX
STATISTICS[3] (Statewide Drug Task Force Information)
Task Force Investigations
Year Cases Charges filed Deaths
1995 10
7 11
1996 11
21 2
1997 11 1 5
1998 23 28 4
1999 6 30 10
2000 65 79 14
Statewide arrests:
Year Arrests Gender Number of 15-21 year olds
2000 114 70 male, 44 female 43 of these arrests are ages 15 – 21
1999 57 22 of these arrests are ages 15 – 21
1998 49 37 male, 12 female 19 of these arrests are ages 15 – 21
