This month, Carroll CountyÂ’s drug court is celebrating 20 years of offering drug and alcohol addicted offenders an alternative to traditional criminal sentencing. The programÂ’s goal has been to reduce recidivism and related expenses to the judicial system and jails. It educates drug addicts about the self-defeating, self-destructive power of drugs so as to motivate them to choose more productive alternatives by developing self-esteem and self-reliance.
Carroll County Sheriff Terry Langley, on Tuesday, said that the program does not work for everybody, but it has made a huge difference in Carroll County over the last two decades.
“It is another initiative for alternative to detention, if the individual is willing to take advantage of a second chance. Thankfully, because of the work of the drug court and many individuals, there have been many that were able to take advantage and to get treatment and get their record cleared and are now living productive lives,” said Langley about the system. “It is very important from a crime prevention aspect, when they become a good citizen and it is also does not take money for them to be in jail where they may have a long life of substance abuse.”
In 20 years, the drug court has served and treated 439 drug addicted offenders and 198 have completed the program and graduated.
The program currently has 68 participants. Twelve of them will graduate later this month.
