County leaders outline new meth sobering center plan
SAN JOSE >> Acknowledging that police arrests and citations have been ineffective against a rise in the number of people walking the streets high on methamphetamine, Santa Clara County officials formally announced a pilot program that would refashion their sobering center for alcoholism clients to also accommodate those suffering from meth addiction.
“In our system, the criminal justice system, methamphetamine basically drives the system,” said Judge Stephen Manley, a pioneer in the creation of specialty courts for crimes influenced by drug addiction and mental illness. “Simply incarcerating people does not change their use of drugs. What we have learned is we need to find new ways to convince people to change their lives and to become sober.”
Starting March 4, the new pilot would make available the county’s Mission Street Sobering Center to people who are suspected of being under the influence of meth in public, allowing police officers to drop them off so they can sober up and then get referred to detox, rehabilitation and other support services.
The one-year pilot is estimated to cost about $1 million to operate, with a significant amount of those costs going toward an anticipated increase in use of the sobering center by meth users.
“What we found is there wasn’t as high a need for the beds for alcohol, but we saw an increase in need for those using meth, and those who were mentally ill,” county Supervisor Cindy Chavez said at a news conference Monday at the Mission Street facility. “Not violent, but just out in the community frightening people or frightening themselves.”
Currently, when police officers encounter people high on meth in the streets and see no evidence of a violent crime or felony, there are two primary consequences: an arrest and jail booking, or a citation. Manley said citations have virtually no deterrent effect.
“I see people who have 15 of those in the last two weeks,” he said.
District Attorney Jeff Rosen said the option of taking someone addicted to
meth to a sobering center is “a first step” to finding an effective public response to the problem.
“We have to get out of the false choice of, we either have them in the jail, or we have them on the street,” Rosen said. “In the jail, they’re not getting better. Leaving them on the street doesn’t help them get better. We need to provide as many open doors as possible to give people opportunities to change.”
A December report from the county Behavioral Services Department found that 38% of the 3,405 people treated for substance abuse in the 2019 fiscal year listed meth as their drug of choice — more than any other substance, including alcohol, which ranked second at 28%.
And arrest data from San Jose police, from October to December last year, showed that 60% of the 83 narcotics-related street and encampment arrests and citations by the department’s Street Crimes Unit involved meth.
Many questions about the new pilot program remain, including how much compliance police officers can expect, given that going to the sobering center is voluntary and would be offered not in lieu of jail but a citation.
“I’m pleased that we’re finally acknowledging the problem,” said San Jose Police Chief Eddie Garcia, who did not attend Monday’s news conference. “However, in the words of the late John Wooden, I just want to make sure we’re not mistaking activity with achievement, and ensure that we’re doing something that will truly help those suffering from substance abuse, and our residents.”
County officials acknowledged that they are partially operating on faith when predicting how successful the sobering center model might be, given the stark differences between alcoholism and meth addiction.
“There’s no fantasy everyone is going to make the right decision for themselves, but we’re going to offer that decision, that opportunity to get sober,” county Executive Jeff Smith said.
“Now, some people who are hardcore addicts won’t want to go anyplace where they can’t feed their addiction, but most people realize they have a problem.”
The pilot can be seen as part of a broader movement in the county to treat minor drug offenses as public health issues.
In June, Rosen’s office announced that for simple drug possession, county prosecutors would only file charges on a third offense within a year, in recognition of the fact that 90% of the 5,000 misdemeanor drug cases they get in a given year involved first- or second-time offenders.
The other 10%, about 500 people, are multi-time offenders who will likely be in the group targeted by the new sobering center model.
“I suspect there’s a big overlap between the 500 or so individuals we are focusing on and the individuals who are in homeless encampments who are also drug addicted,” Rosen said. “It’s another tool for police officers; it’s not the only tool that they need, and it’s not the only tool that society needs. … Let’s try this, let’s try some other things, and try to make a difference.”