Cost of using
Phil Davidson • pdavidson@postregister.com
Nine out of 10.
That’s the number of the 404 felony drug cases related to meth in 2004, Bonneville County Prosecuting Attorney Dane Watkins Jr. estimates.
Prosecuting meth users, pushers and traffickers has become so demanding that Watkins said his office now has two full-time prosecutors devoted to drug cases. Ten years ago, the county had only one part-time attorney handling all narcotics busts. The average salary of a deputy prosecutor hovers around $40,000.
The additional manpower is necessary to deal with a felony drug caseload, including meth possession, that has more than tripled since 1995.
“Without meth users, we wouldn’t need all the prosecutors we have,” Watkins said. “It’s the most serious problem facing law enforcement in this community.”
But the costs of meth don’t end with law enforcement. Everyone from employers to schools grapples with it.
• Schools are filled with struggling students whose lives are disrupted by the drug.
• Addicts who write bad checks or steal money to pay for their next fix hurt businesses and everyone else.
• In the 2005 fiscal year, 3,197 children were placed in foster care, 800 more than in 2003. Tom Shanahan, a spokesman for the state Department of Health and Welfare, attributes the increase to meth abuse. The state spent $12.6 million on foster care in 2005, about $4,000 per child.
• County jails are crowded with meth users, the fastest growing inmate category. During December, the Bonneville County Jail averaged 332 inmates per day. Capt. Sid Hamberlin estimated 80 percent of them have substance abuse problems — mostly meth.
• In Bonneville County, the owner of an average-priced home pays $224 a year under the justice fund levy for the jail and other expenses.Cops and Courts reporter Phil Davidson can be reached at 542-6750.
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