Merrimack County will likely move to install a drug court, officials said, now that Democratic Gov. Maggie Hassan has signed a bill into law that makes state grant money available.
“From a prosecution perspective, I think it’s a great idea,” said Merrimack County Attorney Scott Murray. “It will happen here. It’s really a question of when.”
Drug courts seek to treat high-risk, addicted offenders, instead of incarcerating them. Not everyone is sold, and questions remain about the courts’ viability.
Merrimack County is eligible to receive up to $245,000 a year from the state under the grant program Hassan signed into law Tuesday. But the remaining costs would be picked up by the county, one concern officials named. The drug courts depend on the availability of treatment resources and beds, which have been lacking in the state.
“The program itself is a wise move,” said Peter Spaulding, chairman of the Merrimack County Commission. “If you look in the Merrimack County area, there really are not an awful lot of facilities for treatment.”
Drug arrests have been on the rise in the county. The number of people booked into Merrimack County jail on felony drug charges has doubled each year since 2013, up from 24 then to 79 last year.
County officials have already introduced programs to treat addicted offenders. Efforts are under way to transform the old Merrimack County jail into a community corrections center that will treat substance abuse and other co-occurring issues, including mental illness.
A Merrimack County drug court would focus on high-risk offenders who aren’t targeted by current diversion programs, Murray said.
The drug court is a three-phase treatment and rehabilitation program for criminals with drug addictions who have pleaded guilty and been recommended to the court by a prosecutor. The programs generally last between one and two years, and participants are typically those who have repeatedly cycled through jail or prison.
New Hampshire has six drug courts. Five are in county courts – Strafford, Rockingham, Grafton, Cheshire and Hillsborough South – and one is in Laconia’s district court. Most of the operating drug courts have an annual budget between $300,000 and $400,000, which covers the cost of about 40 participants, according to Strafford County Drug Court Director Alex Casale. The drug courts help reduce the rates of recidivism, officials said, and cost far less than incarcerating someone in state prison.
Any grant application for state drug court money would need to be signed off by the county commissioners and delegation. Penacook Rep. Steve Shurtleff said he would support the funding. Drug courts “have proven successful in other counties,” the Democrat said. “We need every arrow in our quiver. This would be one thing to help stem the drug crisis in Merrimack County.”
The Republican-led Legislature passed the roughly $3 million drug court bill along with several others in an effort to tackle the state’s opioid crisis. More than 430 people died last year from drug overdoses, a record high. Hassan signed the bill into law at a ceremony in Manchester.
“Our existing drug courts have proven successful in reducing crime, saving money and helping people return to their communities as contributing members of society through community supervision and intensive treatment,” Hassan said in a statement. “Establishing a statewide program will help build on that success to prevent people from slipping back into addiction and crime.”
(Allie Morris can be reached at 369-3307 or at amorris@cmonitor.com.)