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Wednesday, November 15, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
Drug program tries
to hit “just right” spot
Correspondent
In an attempt to reduce
the number of drug and
theft crimes in Deschutes
County, District Attorney
John Hummel has announced
a new pilot program called
“Goldilocks” that involves
three different tiers for
addressing drug offenses.
Tier one: Clean Slate, for
someone with no prior drug
convictions, provides for full
medical treatment of both
addiction and any other phys-
ical or mental-health issues.
Mosaic Medical and La Pine
Community Health Center
will be providing the care,
which will either be covered
by the Oregon Health Plan or
provided free of charge.
If someone is caught in
possession of a controlled
substance, a citation is issued
to appear in court, rather than
an arrest being made, pro-
vided there is no outstanding
warrant, they aren’t violent or
under the influence of drugs,
and are not viewed as an
imminent danger.
They are also offered the
opportunity to appear the fol-
lowing Friday at 10:15 a.m.
at an orientation meeting with
Hummel, a public defender,
and a drug and alcohol pro-
fessional, to assess if par-
ticipation in the Clean Slate
program is a viable option.
If deemed appropriate, they
immediately enter the pro-
gram. If they make their
first appointment, the court
appearance is cancelled.
If they remain clean and
sober for a year while in
the program and don’t reof-
fend, their attorney can file
a motion with the court to
remove their case from the
record. Quick entry into the
program is expected to result
in a lowering of the recidi-
vism rate.
Those charged with
Driving under the Influence
of Intoxicants are not eligible
for this tiered program.
Tier 2, Boost, is for low-
level distribution/manu-
facture of a controlled sub-
stance cases or someone
who fails Clean Slate. This
is the approach that has been
in place and involves tradi-
tional prosecution, some jail
time, and court-ordered drug
treatment.
Tier 3, Deter, is more
punitive and applies to com-
mercial drug dealers, those
with a prior record, or who
are dealing drugs to children.
“If you’re dealing drugs,
we’re going to seek the maxi-
mum penalty,” Hummel said.
These cases will be
referred to the U. S. Attorney
for Federal prosecution,
which results in longer sen-
tences. Not all cases will
be accepted by the U.S.
Attorney and those not could
be charged with racketeering
and receive maximum sen-
tences from the Deschutes
County District Attorney.
H u m m e l i n d i c a t e d ,
“Deschutes County is the
only community offering full
medical treatment for drug
offenders. This is a totally
unique model.”
By Sue Stafford
Correspondent
Local authorities are taking
a different approach to drug
offenses in Deschutes County
— one they believe will
reduce crime and recidivism.
Deschutes County District
Attorney John Hummel rolled
out his “Goldilocks” pilot
study last Friday in an effort to
reduce drug and theft crimes
in the county. The name refers
to the “just right” part of the
story of Goldilocks and the
Three Bears.
Hummel believes “one
size fits all” is neither appro-
priate nor beneficial when it
comes to dealing with drug
offenses. The new plan is a
three-tier system allowing
for discretion when choosing
the best way to handle drug
arrests (see sidebar).
After two-and-a-half years
of study and data collec-
tion involving a 31-member
advisory board made up of
members of law enforcement,
municipal government, the
legal profession, business,
non-profits, education, and
social service programs, find-
ings led to the development of
the new program.
Data indicated that from
2009-2015 in Deschutes
County, drug crimes and theft
accounted for over 50 percent
of all crimes — 9,965 out of
18,527. The percentage of
individuals arrested for both
crimes during the same six-
year period was 34 percent
and in a single day 16 percent.
In 2016, a community
rt
of Friends
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A
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By Sue Stafford
DA unveils new drug program
Sisters salutes...
• S i s t e r s C h r i s t i a n
Academy would like to
thank all the folks who
attended their Veterans
Chapel last week. Your
presence made it a wonder-
ful time! Special thanks to
Bill Anttila, Earl Schroeder,
and to John Miller, featured
speaker.
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Sat., Nov. 25
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safety survey throughout the
county revealed 37.4 percent
of citizens responding per-
ceived that drugs constituted
the biggest threat to public
safety, by far the largest per-
centage; 64 percent thought
street drugs had a major nega-
tive impact and 30 percent
said they had a minor negative
impact on the community.
When it came to citizens’
public safety priorities, com-
munity crime prevention was
at the top of the list at 39.1 per-
cent. The preferred strategies
for dealing with crimes related
to street drugs are reflected in
the final Goldilocks proto-
col. For simple possession of
drugs, diversion/drug court
was preferred by 64.4 per-
cent of respondents, with 35.6
percent favoring prosecution.
The reverse was true for those
charged with distributing
drugs. Prosecution was the
choice of 77.4 percent with
only 22.6 percent naming
diversion/drug court.
The other statistic that
highlighted the impact of
drug and theft crimes on the
community had to do with
recidivism, or being charged
with the same crime repeat-
edly. Those two categories
accounted for 87 percent of
repeat offenders.
Hummel said it was obvi-
ous from the data the cur-
rent arrest and prosecution
routine for all drug offenses
was not working. Many thefts
are related to addicts getting
money to buy drugs. Simply
locking up drug users was
not addressing the root of the
problem: their addiction.
The Goldilocks pilot study
is supported by the John D.
and Catherine T. MacArthur
Foundation. The three major
goals are to reduce recidi-
vism, provide appropriate
treatment, care, and punitive
action based on each individ-
ual’s crime and substance use
disorder issue, and to create a
safer, healthier community.
The Goldilocks program
has received funding for one
year, and Hummel hopes that
if the data reflects improved
results funding may be
extended for another year.
“The data will tell us if it’s
working, meaning we will
see the recidivism rate going
down. If the data doesn’t
show improvement, we’ll try
something else, because the
recidivism rate is currently
terrible,” Hummel said.
B y i n s t i t u t i n g t h e
Goldilocks protocol, Hummel
hopes to see a 30 percent drop
in offenses and recidivism.
Frontiers In Science
MONTHLY SYMPOSIUM IN SISTERS
Pachyderm
Intrigue &
Elephant
Lessons
Donald J. Miller is a humanitarian
and conservation photographer
with a passion for enhancing
appreciation of the biosphere and
awareness of the challenges facing
l h t after
ft photo-
h t
our planet. He has a special interest i in elephants
graphing them in 1983 at Washington Park Zoo (Oregon Zoo).
Miller’s lecture will explore the sophisticated nature of elephant
society and communication as illustrated by the research of bi-
ologists Katy Payne and Caitlin O’Connell and enhanced by the
volunteer desert elephant conservation work Miller has done
with Elephant Human Relations Aide in Namibia, Africa.
Also trained as a registered nurse, Miller has done volunteer medical work
in El Salvador, Haiti, and China. His travels contribute to the creation of his
humanitarian images. “Invisible Gift” is the title of his new print display fea-
turing images expressing goodwill – that non-material, seemingly invisible
gift – shared among people of the world. www.delicatelightphotography.com
This lecture is co-sponsored by Friends of the Sisters Library
and the Jim Anderson Chair.
Tuesday, November 28
At The Belfry, 302 E. Main Ave., Sisters
One-hour lecture begins at 7 p.m.
Doors open at 6 p.m. for community hour!
Door Prizes
Hot Cider ‘n’ Munchies
Admission: $5;
Science Club Donors,
Teachers and Students - FREE
Local artists’ best
work for your
Christmas gifts
Save the Date: Tues., Jan. 23
Barbara Pettersen, MS
“The New Genetics:
Promises and Pitfalls”
Bring your curiosity and an appetite for food, drink & knowledge!
