Baker Institute report: Harris County has opportunity to expand drug diversion programs

David Ruth
713-348-6327
david@rice.edu

Jeff Falk
713-348-6775
jfalk@rice.edu

Baker Institute report: Harris County has opportunity to expand drug diversion programs
Expansion would allow defendants, taxpayers to see better outcomes, experts say  

HOUSTON – (Sept. 30, 2015) – The Harris County District Attorney’s (DA) Office has an opportunity to build on the success of its First Chance Intervention Program for first-time offenders of marijuana possession by expanding the program to apply to other offenses, according to a new report by drug policy experts from Rice University’s Baker Institute for Public Policy and the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition. A program expansion would allow defendants and taxpayers alike to see better outcomes while experiencing continued public safety in the community, the experts said.

Downtown Houston skyline from Sabine Street Bridge. Credit: thinkstockphotos.com/Rice University

The report, “Second Chances: The Economic and Social Benefits of Expanding Drug Diversion Programs in Harris County,” was co-authored by Katharine Neill, the Baker Institute’s Alfred C. Glassell III Postdoctoral Fellow in Drug Policy, and Jay Jenkins, the coalition’s Harris County project attorney. It provides a series of recommendations on how the DA’s office could study and accomplish an expansion.

Implemented by Harris County DA Devon Anderson in October 2014, the First Chance Intervention Program (FCIP) allows a defendant arrested for possession of 2 ounces or less of marijuana to be diverted from the criminal justice system if the arrest is the defendant’s first offense.

“One opportunity that poses low risk and high opportunity for reward involves extending the program to low-level, nonviolent offenses that can be remedied with restitution and community service, such as repeat marijuana cases, low-level theft offenses (such as shoplifting) and arrests involving small amounts of other drugs,” the authors wrote.

More than 1,300 people enrolled in FCIP between the program’s launch and April 30, but 84 percent of them enrolled after they were charged; only 16 percent enrolled before they were charged. These numbers indicate that while the program is popular with judges, law enforcement has been hesitant to buy into the program, which is not uncommon when a jail diversion program is launched, the authors said. The program has been quite successful, as nearly 90 percent of those enrolled have either completed the program or are actively participating, the authors said. And the program has precipitated a large drop in marijuana case filings; a spokesman for the district attorney’s office reported a 20 percent drop in Class B marijuana cases filed in Harris County, compared with the same period in 2014.

Because of its size, Harris County stands to benefit significantly from ceasing prosecution of all misdemeanor marijuana offenses regardless of prior nonviolent convictions, according to the authors. Expansion of the FCIP to these offenses could save $216,250 per month in booking fees, along with another $77,850 in projected costs of incarcerating defendants who cannot make bond, the authors said. All told, expansion would save valuable law enforcement and prosecutorial resources while also saving more than $3.5 million per year.

The authors also found that preliminary data from the FCIP suggests that expanding the program could aid in reducing some of the racial disparities in Harris County’s justice system. As of April 30, 33 percent of those who had taken part in the program were black (442 people) and 37 percent (508 people) were Hispanic. While the overall numbers are low compared with the 2,921 total misdemeanor marijuana arrests between January and April, the current program targets only first-time offenders, the authors said. Expanding the program to all marijuana possession offenders would significantly increase the pool of eligible people, many of whom would likely be black and Hispanic, according to current arrest statistics, Neill and Jenkins said.

In addition, FCIP program expansion also could address the age disparity in drug enforcement, the authors said. As of April 30, FCIP participants had a median age of 20, indicating that a majority of those arrested for first-time marijuana possession are young adults. “By expanding the program to all marijuana possession cases, Harris County could significantly reduce the number of young adults burdened with a criminal record, which in turn would leave the possibility of more educational and career opportunities intact for that population,” Neill and Jenkins wrote.

The improvements seen from the diversion of marijuana offenses could also be realized with other nonviolent crime cases if the FCIP were expanded, the authors said. For example, rather than continue to spend scarce resources prosecuting first-time misdemeanor theft cases, a program similar to the FCIP that required offenders to pay restitution to victims would allow for improved outcomes for victims, defendants, taxpayers and the criminal justice system, Neill and Jenkins said. Presently, misdemeanor theft defendants cost the county an average of $191,750 in booking fees per month. “Thus, expanding the program to theft cases makes good fiscal sense and could potentially save Harris County $2.3 million per year,” the authors wrote.

A program based on the same principles as the FCIP and tailored to Harris County “trace cases,” which involve the possession of less than 1 gram of commonly abused controlled substances such as cocaine, methamphetamine and heroin, could save the county tens of millions of dollars in incarceration costs per year, the authors said. According to the Harris County Clerk’s Office, the number of felony trace cases filed has steadily increased over the past two years, totaling 9,801 in 2014.

To interview Neill or Jenkins about the report, contact Jeff Falk, associate director of national media relations at Rice, at jfalk@rice.edu or 713-348-6775.

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Follow the Baker Institute Drug Policy Program via Twitter @BakerDrugPolicy.

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Related materials:

Report: http://bakerinstitute.org/research/second-chance-drug-offenders.

Jenkins biography: http://texascjc.org/jay-jenkins-jd.

Neill biography: http://bakerinstitute.org/experts/katharine-neill.

Baker Institute Drug Policy Program: http://bakerinstitute.org/drug-policy-program.

Founded in 1993, Rice University’s Baker Institute ranks among the top 10 university-affiliated think tanks in the world. As a premier nonpartisan think tank, the institute conducts research on domestic and foreign policy issues with the goal of bridging the gap between the theory and practice of public policy. The institute’s strong track record of achievement reflects the work of its endowed fellows, Rice University faculty scholars and staff, coupled with its outreach to the Rice student body through fellow-taught classes — including a public policy course — and student leadership and internship programs. Learn more about the institute at www.bakerinstitute.org or on the institute’s blog, http://blogs.chron.com/bakerblog.