By Mark Hayward
The New Hampshire Union Leader
MANCHESTER, New Hampshire — A parolee who tests positive for drugs, including heroin, won’t be automatically and returned to state prison, the chairman of the Adult Parole Board acknowledged on Wednesday.
Donna Sytek, a former Republican speaker of the New Hampshire House, said most parolees are trying to recover from drug addiction, and relapse is part of recovery. If a parolee is truthful with his or her parole officer and admits that a drug test will turn positive, the officer will not likely violate the parolee, Sytek said.
The parole officer would likely demand more frequent tests and tell the parolee to enter a treatment program, Sytek said.
“Nothing good’s going to happen to them when they’re in prison. They won’t get any treatment,” Sytek said, adding they’ll likely find drugs in prison. The use of suboxone, which is used to treat heroin addiction, is rampant in prison, she said.
Sytek’s comments came after Mayor Ted Gatsas said that police Chief Nick Willard voiced concerns that parole officers do not violate parolees who test positive for drug use. Gatsas commented the day Gov. Maggie Hassan released a 23-point plan for addressing the heroin problem in New Hampshire.
None deal with toughening parole standards, but Hassan’s spokesman said Corrections Department officials will meet with Willard to discuss his concerns.
Efforts to reach Willard on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
As of July 1, the Corrections Department’s parole officers were supervising 2,403 parolees, 694 out of the Manchester office.
Parole officers can do instant tests for a number of substances: benzodiazepines, barbiturates, amphetamines, opiates, methadone, cocaine, buprenorphine and marijuana ingredients, said Jeffrey Lyons, spokesman for the state Department of Corrections.
Sytek said it wouldn’t be unheard of for a Manchester parolee to get a half-dozen positive tests before getting written up.
“The parole officer, he’s part policeman, part social worker. We encourage (parolees) to work with them and be successful,” Sytek said.
She said at least one-half of prison parolees have used drugs, and the state prison system would not have the space to handle every parolee who tested positive for drugs. She said drug counseling in prison is minimal, and treatment programs are more beneficial on the outside.
Lyons said parole officers make every effort to place a drug user into a community-based substance abuse treatment program rather than prison. There is also the possibility of short-term return to a halfway house.
And parolees will make use of Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous.
Sytek said about half of parole revocations involve drug use. A parolee may have tested positive after too many chances. He may have not reported to his parole officer because he returned to using. He may have not followed through on promises to seek treatment.