The opioid crisis has ravaged the lives of many Rhode Islanders.<\/a> A record 384 lives in the state were lost<\/a> to overdoses in 2020, and substance-use disorders have locked hundreds in a cycle of arrest-release-repeat \u2014 often for petty offenses driven by addiction.<\/p>\n When Superior Court Judge Kristin E. Rodgers assumed the bench in 2009, she took the view that the crimes themselves must be punished, regardless of the driving force behind them.<\/p>\n \u201cI was one of those people who believed in progressive punishment,\u201d Rodgers said in a recent interview. As the judge presiding over the courtroom that handled people accused of violating their probation, that was exactly what she did.<\/p>\n Opioid lawsuits:<\/strong>RI nets $112 million in settlement with opioid manufacturer, distributors. What we know<\/a><\/p>\n Rodgers\u2019 perspective on criminal justice and the use of heroin or other illicit drugs began to shift in 2019 with her participation in the New England Regional Judicial Opioid Initiative<\/a>. Supreme Court Chief Justice Paul A. Suttell selected Rodgers and Family Court Magistrate Paul Jones to take part in a regional discussion contemplating how state courts could better respond to the opioid epidemic.<\/p>\n\n With that grew her understanding and appreciation that substance-use disorders are a medical condition, not a moral failing, she said.<\/p>\n \u201cSubstance-use disorder is an illness. When a person has cancer, we don\u2019t penalize them. We treat it with kindness and compassion,\u201d Rodgers said in her chambers in the Licht Judicial Complex.\u00a0<\/p>\n Court Reforms:<\/strong>RI opens path for former inmates to break impoverishing cycle of court fees and fines<\/a><\/p>\n\n Rodgers went on a listening tour to familiarize herself with the statewide efforts to combat the crisis. She learned about the pioneering medication-assisted treatment program at the Adult Correctional Institutions, legal-medical partnerships, and the Heroin-Opioid Prevention Effort Initiative<\/a>, an outreach program in which law-enforcement officers pair with substance-use specialists to connect people with treatment and resources.<\/a><\/p>\n She heard from experts about the decriminalization of narcotics in Portugal.<\/p>\n\n \u201cWithout having to be part of the criminal justice system, they got the help they needed,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Opioid crisis in Rhode Island:<\/strong>Accidental drug overdose deaths in RI reached record high last year<\/a><\/p>\n With that in mind and the realization that courts are not equipped to deal with substance-use disorders, Rodgers proposed a diversion program to direct people facing addiction to a treatment provider and away from the criminal-justice system.<\/p>\n The concept centered on a police department steering people charged with nonviolent crimes, such as trespass or simple possession that the officer believes is linked to a substance-use disorder, toward treatment and other needed social services.\u00a0<\/p>\n She reached out first to West Warwick and then to Woonsocket, where Police Chief Thomas F. Oates III was receptive to giving it a try in a city that saw 32 accidental overdose deaths in 2020. Woonsocket has been among the communities hardest hit by the opioid crisis in Rhode Island.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re never going to arrest our way out of this,” Oates said.\u00a0“I truly believe it\u2019s a medical issue, not a criminal issue.”<\/p>\n His department sees a constant cycle of people committing criminal acts to support a drug habit, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we\u2019re doing right now is not working,\u201d said Oates, who saw substance abuse first hand during his years with the narcotics unit in the Providence Police Department.\u00a0<\/p>\n The initiative \u2014 the Law Enforcement Assisted Deflection, Engagement and Retention in Treatment, or LEADER program<\/a> \u2014 has secured a three-year, $819,109 grant from the Bureau of Justice Assistance to support the effort.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n\n The program is expected to also benefit residents of Lincoln, Cumberland, North Smithfield, Pawtucket, Central Falls\u00a0and Providence who are routinely arrested by Woonsocket police for drug offenses.<\/p>\n \u201cFor the many families touched by addiction, the opioid epidemic is yet another worry layered on top of the stress of the pandemic,\u201d U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse said in a statement announcing the grant. \u201cI\u2019m hopeful Woonsocket\u2019s program will help divert people from jail into treatment and get more Rhode Islanders on the long, noble road to recovery.\u201d<\/p>\n The program is in its infancy. The Woonsocket police are coordinating with the Community Care Alliance, a nonprofit community-action program that provides substance-use treatment, along with other services such as assistance with housing, mental-health counseling and employment.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201c[The clients] work with us on whatever their needs are,\u201d said Benedict F. Lessing\u00a0Jr., CEO of Community Care Alliance. \u201cThey don\u2019t come to us for any one thing. It\u2019s four or five things. \u2026 Our job is to figure out what is the core issue.\u201d<\/p>\n Criminal Justice:<\/strong>Alleged leader of outlaw Pagans motorcycle gang returns to prison after violating bail<\/a><\/p>\n Blessing credited Oates for his willingness to work with a vulnerable community in which addiction and mental-health issues are often intertwined and homeless numbers are increasing daily.<\/p>\n \u201cThis kind of approach really does have long-term implications. Once you have a record, it does follow you around,\u201d Blessing said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The plan is for the police to connect clinicians and outreach workers each month with an estimated 10 to 12 people with substance-use disorders who typically would be arrested and charged with petty offenses<\/a> to improve their odds of getting treatment and support.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have more contact than anyone to help someone,\u201d Oates said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Diverting an individual to help instead of arresting him or her\u00a0avoids entanglement with the criminal justice system and the associated costs of court appearances and sometimes incarceration, he said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI think it benefits everyone,\u201d Oates said.<\/p>\n What charges will be eligible for diversion remains in discussion, but ideally it will pertain to nonviolent, victimless crimes, Oates said. He acknowledges there will be a learning curve associated with determining who makes a good program candidate and assessing when an individual is noncompliant with his or her treatment.<\/p>\n\n \u201cThis is just a new approach. I think it\u2019s worth a try. I can see the great potential to help a lot of people,\u201d Oates said. \u201cTo truly be successful, you have to want it.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The program has the support of the Rhode Island Public Defender\u2019s office. Unlike other efforts, such as the truancy and drug calendars, the program will divert people before they land in court. As such, the bulk of the grant money will be directed toward treatment, not administrative costs.<\/p>\n \u201cThe statistics show the quicker you get them into treatment, the better the outcomes are. It\u2019s really a nod to trying something different,\u201d said Matthew B. Toro, Rhode Island\u2019s deputy public defender.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rodgers is working with the public defender\u2019s and the attorney general’s offices in drafting a participation agreement for potential arrestees, Toro said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019re giving the service provider a lot of control over cases. They look at it through a different lens than the criminal justice system,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n![\"Superior](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2021\/02\/08\/NPRJ\/49567646-0787-4354-bfcf-76a681a29f38-RINEW-100820-NE_SUPREMES_ONLINE_-Copy-.jpg?width=660&height=570&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/figure>\nWhy is Judge Kristin E. Rodgers working with Woonsocket?<\/h2>\n
![\"Woonsocket](\"https:\/\/www.gannett-cdn.com\/presto\/2022\/02\/14\/NPRJ\/5d99e35b-e5e9-4f4c-9610-67ef79de0e09-oates.jpg?width=300&height=361&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
<\/figure>\nHow will the substance-use diversion program work?<\/h2>\n
How this program is unique\u00a0<\/h2>\n