Wednesday, October 12, 2005

October 12

No suspects, no motive in the shooting death of a woman in the Northeastern.

Jerrod Bernard Byers, 22, was shot three times near North Avenue and died about two hours later at Shock Trauma.

Coyotes were thwarted by a cell phone with a GPS chip when they tried to abduct 22-year-old Hugo Umana.

Got a smack habit to the nth degree? While you wait for a bed to free, do tai chi and drink chai tea at the city's Threshold to Recovery! Meanwhile, the County has been forced to suck it up, pay $20K and allow a methadone clinic to open in Pikesville.

The city's going after intimidators: An arraignment hearing is scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow morning for David Braxton, 24. Court documents allege that on March 14, 2005 Braxton did threaten and harass two witnesses in a shooting investigation.

"No bail" status for Roger Hargraves, accused of setting his wife on fire.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Drug treatment = accupuncture + cappucino? OK. I'll bite.

The Baltimore Dept of Health and the DEA are in agreement: 60,000 addicts in Baltimore, largely on heroin. According to a study from the National Academies Press on methadone treatment programs, about 50% of minority addicts have received treatment, versus a much lower number for white guys. That means that at most some 30,000 addicts in Baltimore are up for treatment.

Now, then, Baltimore's supervisory agency, Baltimore Substance Abuse Systems, indicates that about 75 agencies provide at most 20,000 cases treated, or about 8,000 slots at any moment, at a cost of about $2,500 per.

Baltimore has about 48,000 part I crimes a year, which implies using county averages that it probably has about 100,000 part I & II crimes per year. (the police should *really* disclose part II crimes as the counties do.) Using NCVS data on cities, it is reasonable to expect that these represent about 1/3 of all actual crime, the part II's having a significantly lower reporting rate than the part I. That means about 300,000 crimes in total, committed substantially by addicts & heavy users. Of those, over 150,000 could be eliminated through treatment of addict offenders. But recall that 20,000 annual treatments apparently are consumed by at most 30,000 abusers, so they are being retreated at least every 1 1/2 years. The same guys, lots of relapse, so that's like $166.67 a month not for a recovery, but to delay the crime until the next relapse in 18 months on average.

Don't think I like that very much. I've a better idea. If we arrest you on a simple possession (no distribution or intent), you get a one-time free pass to a guaranteed publicly-funded treatment slot; no incarceration - probation through completion of treatment. Once you've used that pass, you'd better not get caught again or the sentence is double, whether possession or dealing. That means, don't use that treatment until you're ready to make it last. Or, make it work if you're gonna use it, 'cuz it's uphill thereafter. Force people to make responsible decisions; if they are truly medically irresponsible because of addiction, then incarcerate them as unfit to be at liberty - a hazard to the public, when untreated.

If it really makes sense to medicalize the drug problem, then cap the number of treatments a given individual can consume and provide a stong behavioral (read: criminal justice) sanction against ever needing more than that amount of attention, whether medical or correctional. If you'd need to be treated twice a year when locked up, then unless you have private resources to mitigate your medical demands upon society, you ought to sit in a cell for a long time, 'cuz that's too generous for us po' folk. And No, you shouldn't have cable tv and dental care in the cell, either. Spartan, but humane, conditions make jails work in most parts of the world. Baloney & cheese may be medically necessary; Oprah and Dr. Phil are not.

Maurice Bradbury said...

What's a Part I vs. a Part II crime?

Anonymous said...

FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting taxonomy

part I
murder, rape, robbery, aggravated assault (weapon), burglary, theft of auto, theft from auto, arson

part II
vandalism, breaking & entering, trespassing, common assault, larceny theft, CDS offenses, extortion, fraud, firearms charges, nonviolent sex offenses, possession of stolen goods, loitering, various misdemeanors