Each May, our country celebrates National Drug Court Month and the many benefits drug courts bring to our communities. This year, the Kauai Drug Court also celebrates its 15th anniversary.
In 2001, Kauai faced a serious drug problem, worsened by the criminality and social problems that accompany addiction, including burglaries, thefts, criminal property damage, domestic violence, mental illness, homelessness, automobile fatalities, and homicides.
The only alternatives for judges at that time were to sentence offenders to probation or incarceration, knowing that our probation officers were overloaded with cases, and jail and state prisons were overcrowded. The rate at which offenders committed new crimes during or after probation or incarceration (recidivism) was also generally high.
The Kauai Drug Court was established in 2003 under the direction of now-retired Judge Clifford Nakea to provide alternatives to incarceration, alleviate probation caseloads, and introduce programs to help those struggling with substance abuse change the way they think and behave, and acquire the skills to successfully begin a new life.
Today, our program has helped 212 individuals graduate and rejoin society. While these successes are reason enough to celebrate, our community also experiences a multiplier effect with every individual who succeeds in the program: Families are reunited, and children break the cycle of physical and emotional turmoil that sets so many on their own path to a life of substance abuse and crime.
Additionally, family, friends and neighbors are spared further suffering and loss from addiction-related crimes. Employers and the business community are also relieved of the impacts of these crimes, and the strains on our over-burdened public safety and health care systems are decreased.
All these gains are achieved at significantly lower costs than long-term incarceration. It costs $120 per day to incarcerate an inmate on Kauai, and less than $17 per day to treat and supervise a drug court client.
Drugs and alcohol continue to be a factor in crimes, far more frequently than many people realize. This is why the Kauai Drug Court remains such an important resource for our community.
We are grateful to the dedicated law enforcement and criminal justice professionals, community treatment providers, volunteers, and the network of employers, friends, and family who work together to ensure participants receive support, compassion, and evidence-based care.
We also thank our partners — the Friends of the Kauai Drug Court Program, a Kauai United Way agency. Together, this support team helps us get people back into the community, working, paying taxes, with a real chance for a successful future.
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The Honorable Randal G. Valenciano is Chief Judge of Hawaii’s Fifth Judicial Circuit and Judge of the Kauai Drug Court.
The Honorable Kathleen N. A. Watanabe is Judge of the Kauai Drug Court.
