A chance to sober up

San Diego program helps offenders get off drugs and avoid jail.

SAN DIEGO — Getting low-level criminals with drug problems off the street is the goal of a new program City Atty. Jan Goldsmith is launching to fight homelessness and help people avoid becoming career criminals.

Chronic nonviolent criminals with drug problems will be able to avoid jail time if they accept placement in government housing — 28 local beds secured for the program in which they’ll get comprehensive drug treatment and counseling for up to two years.

“Rather than put them through the revolving door one more time, we will offer them a spot in an intensive drug treatment program and a tailored housing placement — all overseen by a case manager who will keep on top of their situation and keep them on a track to success,” Goldsmith said.

The pilot program is part of a wider Community Justice Initiative that Goldsmith launched 18 months ago to allow people charged with many misdemeanors to avoid jail time and a criminal record if they complete two days of community service and pay a $120 fine.

Although that approach might have been criticized as “soft on crime” years ago, the program has been touted as a national model and praised by local social service agencies, public defenders and the American Civil Liberties Union.

It recently received a $415,000 federal “smart justice” grant to help fund an expansion and some data tracking so that other cities can study the results and possibly replicate all or part of it.

Since late 2014, there have been 1,500 participants in the program, which was initially called Community Court, and they’ve completed more than 17,000 community service hours.

And Goldsmith recently expanded the program, which had been limited to first-time offenders accused of trespassing, vandalism, shoplifting and other minor misdemeanors, to include drug offenses.

First-time drug offenders are now given the option of treatment and counseling to reduce or eliminate the community service portion of their plea. Misdemeanors ineligible for the program include driving under the influence, domestic violence, elder abuse, child abuse and arson.

But Goldsmith said that change hasn’t adequately addressed chronic low-level offenders with drug, alcohol or mental health issues, a group that puts a heavy burden on local courts and public safety agencies.

So in conjunction with Mayor Kevin Faulconer and the San Diego Housing Commission, Goldsmith has secured about $340,000 for 28 beds over the next two years to provide a small group of those chronic offenders the option of housing with intense treatment.

The new program was praised at a news conference last week by Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, criminal justice and drug policy director for the ACLU of California.

She called Goldsmith an “innovator” and said incarceration is an expensive option that takes resources away from programs that can address problems directly, such as drug treatment.

Mike Ruiz, supervising attorney for the Public Defender of San Diego’s misdemeanor unit, said he’s optimistic the new program will allow many chronic offenders with drug problems to break the cycle.

“It is our position this will actually lead them to a better life,” Ruiz said.

Solving the problem would require funding for at least 10 times as many beds, Goldsmith said. But he said success with the pilot program could prompt the state and other agencies to provide significant additional funding.

He said the most likely source of state money would be Proposition 47, which sharply increased the burden on his office by reducing many drug crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. District Atty. Bonnie Dumanis handles felony criminal cases in the city, while Goldsmith handles misdemeanors.

For example, the number of misdemeanor cases related to methamphetamine handled by Goldsmith increased from 555 in 2014 to 1,526 in 2015.

The measure, which voters approved in November 2014, also said an about $150 million in state savings yielded by shifting misdemeanors would be provided to local governments to help them handle increased caseloads.

Local governments haven’t received anything so far, but Goldsmith sent Gov. Jerry Brown a letter last month lobbying for some of the savings.

Goldsmith said the new program won’t succeed with everyone because he will have only the threat of misdemeanor conviction — not a felony — to persuade offenders to seek treatment. But Goldsmith said he hopes many chronic offenders will choose the program, which the Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team has already begun offering to offenders, because they want a better life.

“We’re giving them more than just a bed on a cold night,” Goldsmith said. “We’re giving them a commitment to housing along with drug treatment” so chronic offenders can change their behavior, he added.

And he predicted strong public support.

“This is a serious community problem,” Goldsmith said. “The voters have said clearly ‘we want these problems to be addressed through treatment, not through warehousing in jail.’”