8-5-13 fdl county drug court

With nearly 200 drug related arrests in Fond du lac over the past year and a half,  local law enforcement will be looking at a new approach this fall.  Fond du Lac County has applied for a $300,000 grant to implement a drug court.   Probation and Parole agent and Drug Court Committee chair Carrie Nitz says with or without the grant the plan is to start the drug court in October.  District Attorney Eric Toney says under the program two judges would be assigned to hold drug court once a week.   Nitz and Toney say drug court participants in other communities in Wisconsin and other states have significantly lower recidivism rates than drug offenders who go to prison and treatment costs considerably less than incarceration.  Nitz says the key is addressing addiction and the thought is drug court has a better chance of success than a judge telling someone not to use drugs.