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Tuesday, Jan. 2, 2001

Proposition 36, approved by the state's voters in November, mandates drug treatment rather than jail for defendants charged with simple drug possession. The aim is to get small-time absers into treatment so they may kick their budding habit before it develops into full-blown drug addiction and starts them down the road to a criminal career.

Although their work may not result in drug abusers doing time, narcotics squads will remain alert on the job.

"We are still out there in the field, and we are still going to arrest them," Los Angeles Police Capt. Walt Schick told the Los Angeles Times on Monday.

The police officers who run undercover sting operations to nab street-level addicts and dealers believe that the threat of being sent to a county jail is as effective a deterrent as treatment. They are concerned, however, that 2001 might lead to resources being diverted away from street operations if city governments believe they don't result in the arrest numbers they used to produce.

Fullerton Police Sgt. Joe Klein told the Times that the stings routinely run in cities across the state might become less common.

"That's a very realistic fallout from Prop 36," Klein said. "I think that everyone is worried about it, but no one knows how to take care of it."

There are also concerns that removing the threat of jail may also make arrestees less inclined to inform on higher-level drug dealers.

Proponents of the new plan believe Prop 36's passage signals a desire among Californians to try a different approach to the war on drugs.

"Sting operations only reinforce the old school of thought about how to effectively change the behavior of people who are addicted to drugs," said Elizabeth Schroeder of American Civil Liberties Union.

Some analysts have predicted that the new law might not change the scene on the streets a great deal, since many suspects arrested for the first or second time for possession generally are given probation and remain free due to jail overcrowding.

Copyright 2000 by United Press International. All rights reserved.

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