Judge John Dan Kemp of Mountain View has been elected President of the Arkansas Drug Court Professionals Association at its annual meeting.
The ADCPA is an organization composed of Drug Court Judges, probation officers, drug counselors, intake officers, defense attorneys and prosecutors who work in the drug courts throughout Arkansas.
This group of professionals from the court system as well as treatment and probationary professionals has established a common-sense approach to improving the justice system by using a combination of judicial monitoring and effective treatment to compel drug-using offenders to change their lives.
Currently there are over 2,450 drug courts in operation in all 50 states. In Arkansas, there are 41 drug courts in operation and the newest drug court in Fulton-Izard Counties will become operational in early September.
Judge Kemp was first elected as Circuit Judge in the 16th Judicial District in 1986, He first began serving as Drug Court Judge in Independence County in 2003, when the Drug Court was established in Batesville. Judge Kemp also presides over the Drug Courts in Cleburne and Stone Counties.
“Drug Courts are an effective way to save prison costs for people who are willing to live drug free lives. As well as giving people an opportunity to stay out of prison, it helps to reunite families and make productive citizens of drug-using offenders. It can also save tens of thousands of dollars in future medical expense when a former drug offender has a drug free baby,” Kemp stated.
