The chief deputy of the Rowan County Sheriff’s Department is not impressed with the early results of a recent Kentucky law that encourages alternative sentences for non-violent drug offenders. Joe Cline says deputies are busting drug users, only to see them on the streets a short time later purchasing the same drugs.
Cline is not opposed to diversion programs but says incarceration is a better place to start…
Cline says citizens have called the sheriff’s office, asking why drug offenders are out of jail so soon after they’ve been arrested. The Kentucky General Assembly two years ago approved House Bill 463 as a means of reducing prison costs, overcrowding and providing a more effective way to curb drug dependency.
