Wayne County prosecutor's new deal: Get clean, avoid jail

Wayne County Prosecutor Mike Shipman has watched as his office has dealt with the same drug offenders over and over again.

Now, he's implementing a program he hopes will stop that cycle of addiction and criminal behavior. He's offering certain drug offenders a chance to participate in an intensive treatment program, and if they successfully complete the program, he'll dismiss their cases.

"What brought about the idea for the program for me is the fact that many offenders return to the criminal justice system," Shipman said. "It doesn't seem like many are being rehabilitated."

By offering treatment over incarceration, offenders might find avoiding jail time to be the motivation they need to beat their addiction.

"The keys to the jail are in their hands," Shipman said.

Offenders arrested for using or possessing small amounts of drugs or for petty shoplifting crimes that are driven by drug use will be offered the opportunity to participate in the program.

They will sign a Pre-Trial Drug Diversion Agreement that has 11 sections, including an admission of guilt that the offenders agree could later be admitted into evidence without their objection. Requirements include undergoing tests, and treatment if necessary, for communicable diseases such as hepatitis and HIV, performing community service and providing restitution to a victim, if applicable.

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Shipman said Wayne County previously had no mechanism to force offenders to be tested for hepatitis or HIV or to require treatment.

The Wayne County Probation Department would oversee the program and direct offenders to Centerstone or Meridian Health Services for professionals to determine the proper rehabilitation plan. Offenders would pay an initial $50 fee, plus whatever they can afford to pay of their treatment plans. Shipman said Medicaid and HIP 2.0 pays the cost of treatment for felons, and there's a Recovery Works program that offers last-resort funding.

"We knew we had to have a funding mechanism in place," he said.

Successful completion of the program results in a dismissed case, but any offender not completing the program still will be prosecuted.

"We have that hanging as a stick in the background if they don't take the carrot," Shipman said. "We're not out anything as a prosecutor or community. We can still prosecute them and obtain a conviction."

Other areas in Indiana have established drug courts to offer treatment instead of incarceration. Shipman said Wayne County didn't have funding for a new court and for staffing, so this program is driven more by the prosecutor's office than by the courts.

"It has similar features," he said, "steering somebody away from prison toward counseling."

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Logistical details of how the probation department will handle the program still are being determined, as is the full impact on workload, said Kory George, the county's chief probation officer. He said supervising the process "will clearly have an impact on us," but his department would supervise many of the same offenders if they were found guilty of their crimes.

"Those with a low-level felony are the ideal probation population," he said. "We try to shape offender behavior and modify offender behavior so that we can have a sustained impact."

The difference now is that probation will provide supervision after an arrest but before a disposition. As things currently work, probation normally provides supervision after a case's disposition and often after some incarceration time.

"It's a voluntary program if they realize they're ready to do this and want to do it," George said. "If someone at least acknowledges that, it's one step on the motivation chart."

How many offenders will take advantage of the program is hard to predict, Shipman said.

"If they have an addiction and have never been in trouble before, I would think they would bend over backward," he said. "I hope the majority of people put themselves into the system and stay clean."

The requirements of the program represent a commitment, however, that some might not be willing to make.

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"It's not going to be a cakewalk," Shipman said. "Some people don't care and they'd rather spend 60 days in jail rather than get clean. If we have a modest success rate, is it worth it? I would argue it is."

Lisa Suttle, director of psychiatric services at Reid Health and facilitator for the Heroin is Here group, said any opportunity for addiction treatment with wraparound services for homelessness and mental health issues is a benefit.

"I don't think it will be for everyone, but there are cases where it will be beneficial for some," she said. "It depends on the circumstances and what's going on with that individual. I do think there will be some that it will be beneficial for, and getting help instead of going to jail is a positive, absolutely."

Shipman said he discussed his ideas with law enforcement, health care professionals, judges and the probation department and the program fits with other Heroin is Here-inspired initiatives for the Bridge and Vivitrol. The Bridge is a device that attaches to an addict's ear and significantly reduces the pain of withdrawal, and Vivitrol is a once-a-month shot that eliminates cravings for opiates.

Suttle said use of the Bridge has yet to be approved at Reid Health for outpatient use because more training is necessary. A Vivitrol pilot program with a couple of patients has shown positive results at the hospital, she said, and Centerstone is working on a pilot Vivitrol program at the Wayne County Jail.

Shipman said a three-tiered approach with the Bridge, Vivitrol and the diversion program's treatments could prove effective.

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Others have hope that he's right.

"I think that this would offer help to those who need it," said Stacey Steele, director of Partnership for a Drug Free Wayne County. "Incarcerating people is not always the answer. You can't just kick a disease by yourself, and this is offering people help. I'm hopeful we'll see some good results from it."

Whitney Mays runs Hope House, which provides help for addicted men. She's seen the good that beating addiction does.

"It changes lives. It really does," she said. "The judicial system is giving them an opportunity to get right. I think the option to get right or go to jail is wonderful."

Richmond Police Department Chief Jim Branum said the program is "absolutely worth trying."

"I don't think the heroin problem is a problem where we can arrest our way out of it," he said. "If people get the treatment that's needed and are no longer involved in drugs, it's worth a try."

Branum said the Wayne County Drug Task Force concentrates on investigating drug dealers, but officers come across possession violations, often in concert with other violations. Addiction drives much of the county's crime.

"If we arrest people and the treatment works, that's a good thing," he said. "If they're still addicts when they come out, that's what has to change. Otherwise, they're still stealing and using. Every agency in the criminal justice system is trying to come up with something to alleviate the heroin problem."