High priority

SHOSHONE COUNTY — When speaking about the recent number of drug trafficking charges, Seth Green of the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office said, “Things are going to get worse before they get better.”

But after facing overcrowding beyond the maximum capacity at the county jail, deputies have had to take on different tactics to try and reduce overcrowding while keeping the community safe.

“I didn’t tell the deputies, ‘Do not arrest them,’ it’s still at their discretion whether they’re going to take somebody into jail or not, but I did ask them that any nonviolent misdemeanor crime that they can just cite and release, please do that," said Sheriff Holly Lindsey. "That’s not going to happen in every case, but we’re trying to just cite those guys and gals with a misdemeanor and send them on their way."

“The only exceptions are if it’s drug-related and it has to do with manufacturing or delivering, we’re still taking them to jail,” Lindsey said.

Taking measures to try and reduce the number of arrests has had only a small impact, however, because the majority of arrests are felony or violent charges and many of the remaining arrests have been related to drugs.

“It’s helped a little bit, but not too much,” Lindsey said.

Communicating with the other local agencies making up the Silver Valley Drug Task Force, deputies primarily work hand in hand with the prosecutor’s office to ensure that drug seizures are conducted in line with an individual's Fourth Amendment constitutional rights.

Chief Deputy Prosecutor Britney Jacobs cited a close relationship with local law enforcement with the ability to call on the prosecutor’s office any time of day to consult about charges or obtain a warrant for arrest. The overall mission that both agencies hope to achieve is to “hopefully remove more people from the devastating world of controlled substance addiction,” Jacobs said.

Drug trafficking in the Silver Valley

Captain Seth Green said that the majority of the individuals being arrested in this area on major drug trafficking charges are freelancers who aren’t attached to larger criminal organizations.

“What you do get is what I call mercenary runners or freelance people, so you get more random populace, which doesn’t sound good at face value, but it actually is really good for the populace because you’re not getting as dangerous people a lot of times,” Green said.

Green hopes this trend continues as deputies continue to crack down on drug use in the area and eventually deter drug traffickers from passing through altogether.

“We want to create an environment where they’re scared to do that,” Green said.

New drug diversion program hopes to reduce strain on justice system

Making it harder to purchase drugs is one piece of the puzzle when it comes to tackling addiction issues in the Silver Valley, but new state programming may also help tip the balance towards a more positive result.

Individuals in Shoshone County facing nonviolent drug charges who also meet specific criteria will be offered treatment and intensive case management instead of incarceration as part of the new programming through Idaho Law Enforcement Diversion.

The hope from the Shoshone County Prosecutor’s Office is that, by cultivating a support system for those facing drug charges who are nonviolent offenders, it will also help decrease the workload of local law enforcement agencies in the long run. Another aspiration for the program is to take on a more holistic approach to eliminate drug addiction, this will also help reduce the financial burden on detention centers and the court system.

After individuals in the program are able to achieve abstinence from drugs for a set period of time, (usually a year) they will be able to graduate from the program and be screened out of the criminal justice system.

Shoshone County Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Scott Sergeant said that though the local implementation of the drug diversion program is new, there are hopes that the program can have a positive impact on both individuals and agencies making up the criminal justice system in the Silver Valley over time.

“A program that could meet the individuals on the steps of the jail, help them with scheduling and managing appointments, and refer them into mental health treatment, would help create a smooth transition back to our community,” Sergeant said.