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Where's Plan B? Former Syracuse
Auditor Minch Lewis recently joined other local and national leaders who
have wisely acknowledged the need to reassess how we fight the drug
problem, and he has called for alternative solutions.
Lewis' report
says the Syracuse Police Department is spending an inordinate amount of
time and money addressing the drug problem with meager results when a
change in approach would be more effective. He could be right.
Lewis is a
respected political figure who brings important credibility to the debate
on drugs. He also asks officials to consider decriminalizing drugs. That
may not be a politically acceptable solution, but Lewis deserves credit
for attempting to open an honest debate on such issues. Others appear
ready to join in. Onondaga County
District Attorney William J. Fitzpatrick recently endorsed the idea of
reforming the Rockefeller-era drug laws. And city police Inspector Mike
Kerwin also called for a statewide and national debate on drugs and the
present drug laws. Lewis, forced by
term limits to leave office after completing eight years in office, said
he would ask the Common Council to consider alternatives such as
decriminalizing the sale of illegal drugs; "harm reduction," which would
provide safe and clean equipment such as needles; and treatment and
prevention programs. The council and
all other county and state officials would be wise to listen. At the
least, they should support reform of laws that result in wasted resources,
disproportionate incarceration of blacks and Latinos statewide and
excessive mandatory sentences - all without denting the problem.
Greater resources
must be devoted to drug treatment programs, which have proven effective.
Also, judges should be granted more discretion in sentencing to fairly and
more effectively deal with individual cases and circumstances.
Lewis said the
prohibition of alcohol should have taught society that making substances
illegal leads to bootlegging, violence, organized crime, robberies and
homicides. Once the criminal element disappeared, Lewis noted, "the
violence connected with the distribution system disappeared."
Maybe that would
work here, maybe not. What's more and more certain is that neither the
state nor the city can afford to maintain the current approach.
Reform attempts
keep stalling, mostly likely because many politicians fear they will look
soft on crime to their constituents if they change the system. We all must
be smarter than that. It's time to stop
talking tough on crime and start acting smarter on crime. Considering the
voices of Lewis, Fitzpatrick and others is a start.
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