SUCCESS in the initiation of special courts for mentally ill offenders of minor crimes on the mainland has caught the attention of officials in Hawaii. Such a system would be a worthwhile method of dealing with a problem that has long added to prison overcrowding and the increasingly common occurrence of mental illness both in and out of the criminal justice system. Even so, state officials should be cautious about the breadth of such a program. Proceed with caution
on mental health courtThe issue: A state judge here is
exploring the possibility of forming
a special court for mentally ill offenders
of misdemeanors and low-level felonies.The problem of currently limited resources should not stop state District Judge Marcia Waldorf from pursuing the possibility of creating a mental health court in Hawaii. Such a court would provide a good reason to expand mental health services that already are inadequate in Hawaii. But those services should be in place before Waldorf bangs down her gavel.
Mental illness has increased throughout the country because of the end of involuntary commitment of the mentally ill to institutions and the drug-abuse epidemic of the 1980s and 1990s. Among the results have been widespread homelessness and overcrowding of jails. A national survey two years ago found that 16 percent of inmates of state prisons and local jails and 7 percent of federal prisoners are mentally ill and probably should be in a hospital, not jail.
Broward County (Ft. Lauderdale), Fla., pioneered the idea of a mental health court four years ago, drawing on the experience of drug courts to address another root cause of crime. It has reported success in preventing the jailing of numerous mentally ill misdemeanor offenders who volunteered for mental health treatment. Mental health courts have been launched since then in King County (Seattle), Wash., Anchorage, Alaska, and San Bernardino, Calif.
The problems seem to have come with attempts to take too large a bite in attacking the problem. San Bernardino's mental health court is the only one of the four to provide treatment not only to offenders of misdemeanors but to those accused of minor, nonviolent felonies, and to require that they live in a court-ordered, residential setting. There are too few beds to handle the volume of offenders volunteering for the treatment.
Hawaii officials are interested in the Seattle model, but similar difficulties exist there. "I knew when we were starting this, we would be touching the tip of an iceberg," Mark C. Chow, judge of the King County mental health court, told the Star-Bulletin's Helen Altonn. "Well, we've run into the iceberg. The existing staff is just overloaded."
The Fort Lauderdale, Seattle, Anchorage and San Bernardino mental health courts all have "found that treatment resources and funding are insufficient for the populations they are serving and plan to serve in the near future," according to a study released last year by the federal Bureau of Justice Assistance. The Hawaii State Hospital already is overcrowded, limiting the treatment options available to a mental health court in Hawaii at least in its early stages.
The battle over drilling for oil in an Alaskan refuge has moved to the U.S. Senate, where Hawaii's two Democrats -- both of whom favor drilling in the refuge -- will have to decide whether economic interests are worth more than saving a pristine wilderness. Inouye, Akaka face
tough decisionsThe issue: The conflict over an Alaskan
wildlife refuge goes to the U.S. Senate
after the House passes a bill that
allows oil exploration there.They should choose preservation of the refuge, not because jobs and economic development aren't important, but because once despoiled a wilderness is lost.
The House, with Hawaii's Patsy Mink and Neil Abercrombie voting "no," passed the bill that opens the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil exploration. The lopsided bill also hands over $33 billion in tax breaks and incentives for the oil, coal and gas industries while doing little to decrease energy consumption.
The Teamsters Union lobbied hard for the bill, saying drilling would bring needed jobs, a powerful argument that both Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka employ in explaining their support of oil exploration in the refuge. Akaka, through an aide, said the Inupiat people of Alaska favor "oil exploration as a matter of economic development and employment." Inouye, in a position paper, contends the Inupiat "greatly need revenues" to reduce their dependence on federal aid.
With Hawaii so dependent on foreign oil, the senators contend, any source of domestic production should be examined. Both agree with oil industry lobbyists that drilling technology is so advanced that it would not harm the refuge. But oil extraction, no matter how advanced, brings roads for trucks and equipment, nitrogen oxide gases, excavation wastes and oil spills. With the amount of recoverable oil in dispute, imposing environmental damage on the refuge would be reckless.
Oil consumption continues to increase in the United States with figures now at 9.6 million barrels a day. Imports account for more than 50 percent of the country's oil needs and it is implausible that domestic production can ever reach that level. If the nation is to reduce dependence on foreign oil, responsible energy policies should include conservation and renewable energy sources.
Many treasured parks across the country hold great potential for energy development: geothermal at Yellowstone National Park and gas and oil at Bryce Canyon and Zion National Park. Lawmakers certainly would not allow drilling in these. They should not allow it in the Arctic refuge.
Published by Oahu Publications Inc., a subsidiary of Black Press.Don Kendall, President
John Flanagan, publisher and editor in chief 529-4748; jflanagan@starbulletin.com
Frank Bridgewater, managing editor 529-4791; fbridgewater@starbulletin.com
Michael Rovner, assistant managing editor 529-4768; mrovner@starbulletin.com
Lucy Young-Oda, assistant managing editor 529-4762; lyoungoda@starbulletin.com The Honolulu Star-Bulletin (USPS 249460) is published daily by
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