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TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Raymond J. Lesniak and Nicholas P. Scutari which expands eligibility for the State’s drug court substance abuse treatment program and creates a phased-in pilot program in which any offender who’s eligible would be automatically enrolled in drug court was signed into law today.

“Drug Court saved the life of one of the intruders who broke into my home and robbed me in the middle of the night three years ago, and the program made our community safer by giving him an opportunity to kick his drug habit and lead a productive, crime free life,” said Senator Lesniak, D-Union. “Unfortunately, his partner in crime was not eligible to receive the intensive treatment for his drug addiction provided by our drug courts because of prior offenses. The time that he served in jail was more costly and less likely to aid his recovery or lessen his likelihood of committing another crime. This law expands access to the life-saving, cost-saving and crime-preventing opportunities provided by our drug courts to thousands of criminal offenders struggling with drug addiction. Our communities will be safer and taxpayer costs will be saved as our prison population is reduced as a result.”

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Raymond J. Lesniak and Nicholas P. Scutari which would expand eligibility for the State’s drug court substance abuse treatment program and create a phased-in pilot program in which any offender who’s eligible would be automatically enrolled in drug court was approved by the Senate today by a vote of 36-1, receiving final legislative approval.

“This bill is about giving criminal drug offenders an opportunity at a second chance at a crime-free life,” said Senator Lesniak, D-Union. “The current practice of incarcerating drug addicts gives them little chance to kick the habit and encourages ordinarily nonviolent offenders to become repeat offenders. This bill puts the focus on addiction recovery and individual rehabilitation, rather than blind incarceration, for offenders who are seeking to overcome substance abuse.”

TRENTON – A bill sponsored by Senators Raymond J. Lesniak and Nicholas P. Scutari which would expand eligibility for the State’s drug court substance abuse treatment program and create a pilot program in two counties in which any offender who’s eligible would be automatically enrolled in a drug treatment program was approved by the Senate today by a vote of 33-2.

“Giving criminal offenders an opportunity at a second chance at a crime-free life is a moral and responsible thing to do,” said Senator Lesniak, D-Union. “We need to understand that the current practice of incarcerating drug addicts does little to rehabilitate the individual, and may in fact only lead to a nonviolent offender becoming a violent offender later in life. This bill is about spending our corrections budget smarter, and putting the focus on addiction recovery, rather than blind incarceration, for offenders who are motivated by substance abuse.”

“Our current criminal justice system fails individuals who are addicted to drugs,” said Senator Scutari, D-Union, Middlesex and Somerset, and the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee. “One of the popular definitions of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results. In the case of drug-addicted criminal offenders, if we think for a minute that the current vicious cycle of incarceration, release, criminal offense and incarceration will eventually yield rehabilitated individuals, then we’re certainly inviting questions about the efficacy of the State’s criminal justice system, let alone our own mental health and well-being.”