Courts use different approach with drug, alcohol offenders
Two Minnesota counties and the city of Fargo are trying a new alternative sentencing program for drug and alcohol offenders.
The program, called the Alternative Sentencing Program Education Network, or ASPEN, is run by retired police officers. It challenges offenders to take responsibility for their actions, and understand the consequences of the behavior that got them into trouble.
About 30 people, most in their teens and 20s, attended a recent ASPEN class at a hotel meeting room in Fargo. They were all there because a judge gave them the option of paying $100 to take the all-day class, or go to jail.
Retired cop Steve Hagenah starts the session by asking each person why they're attending. Several of the young people respond that they were arrested for underage consumption of alcohol.
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"If you're at a party and there are a lot of people there, guess what? The cops are coming," said Hagenah to the group. "One of the things -- because we're all retired cops -- that we really, really miss, we don't get to go to as many parties as we used to."
Mixing jokes and lectures, Hagenah warns the attendees not to take the offense lightly. He says alcohol often leads to other, more serious charges.
"When have you done some of the silliest crap you've ever done in your whole life? You're drinking or you're high, and you think, 'This would be fun! Hold my beer and watch this,'" he said.
Fargo Municipal Judge Tom Davies says the class has exceeded his expectations in the seven months he's been using it. And he says that success most likely has a lot to do with the retired cops who run it.
"They've had smoke blown up their noses when they were on the force. They know who the BS'ers are," said Davies. "They know the kind of stories to expect, they know the alibis. And the minute you start pulling that alibi crap, they plant your head in another portion of your anatomy until you decide to start breathing real air."
The ASPEN program started in New Mexico. Retired police officer Steve Andersen brought the program to Beltrami County in 2007. He says it all started with a conversation he had with a judge who was frustrated by repeat alcohol offenders.
"So I started searching, and everything I could find as an alternative sentence-type program was a federally or state funded grant. I just wasn't interested," said Andersen. "What we have had in the past have been grants. And they come, and they're good, and they go away. And here we are again."
Andersen says ASPEN is funded only by the $100 fee offenders pay. Because it's self-supporting, he hopes it can become be a consistent long-term program.
The retired police officers get a small fee. Andersen says they aren't in it for the money, but because they all have stories they'll never forget. One of his unforgettable stories is a car crash involving an intoxicated 19-year-old man and his girlfriend.
"She had died in the crash. He was lying in the ditch, begging us for a second chance," Andersen recalled. "He was dying. He said, 'I'll never drink again. I'll never do this again. I never thought this would happen to me. I don't want to die.' He died in our arms. It's sad. We don't want to see this anymore."
Those stories don't just motivate the retired officers. They're also used, along with graphic videos and photos, to shock people attending the class. Andersen says it's a combination of hard-edged education and positive reinforcement.
About 2,200 offenders have taken the class in Minnesota so far. Andersen says it's too early to have hard data on its effectiveness, but judges tell him they are seeing fewer repeat offenders.
Fargo Municipal Judge Tom Davies says he bases his enthusiasm for the program on anonymous surveys he requires offenders to fill out for all alternative sentencing programs.
"Sometimes they become smart alecs. You know, 'The judge is an SOB, the speakers don't know what they're talking about, this is a bunch of crap.' But these evaluations are really good," said Davies. "Many of the people say, 'I wish they had a program like this in high school, it might have made a difference, I wish they had a program like this at the colleges.'"
Davies says he's pushing hard for the program to be expanded to schools and the county courts in North Dakota.
In Minnesota, the program is active in Clay and Beltrami counties, and officials say it may soon expand to other counties.
