York County, VA, has been using special courts to handle DUI cases in a more effective manner for about 2 years, reducing the cost of DUI rehabilitation to the county.
The courts will address the problems of DUI by providing more effective rehabilitation services, according to the plans, in order to prevent repeat offenses and keep DUI offenders from clogging the county's jails and court systems. A new proposal would provide more funding for the courts through a $25 surcharge on all DUI arrests.
York County uses special courts to deal with not only DUI but also drug users and people with mental ailments. Officials say the courts can better address these unique situations as they are in touch with the key needs of the defendants as well as the state. Opponents say these courts allow criminals to get off too easy.
Currently, the DUI courts only hear cases for people who have committed 3 offenses in the state. Right now, any individual who enters the special court and is convicted receives a mandatory 90 day county prison sentence and wears a SCRAM bracelet for 90 days after. The SCRAM bracelet monitors alcohol consumption.
All told, the program has helped a minimal number of people - 10 in its first year and 12 in its second. Even with this small amount of participants, however, the court estimates it saved the county about $40,000 in costs to send these people to jail, according to the York Daily Record.
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