Rocky Boy starts 24/7 Sobriety Program

Rocky Boy’s Indian Reservation has implemented the 24/7 Sobriety Program into its court system, making it the first reservation in the state to implement this program.

Chris Wolf Chief, juvenile probation officer with the Chippewa Cree Tribal Courts who helped set the program, said he has been working on this system for months with Montana Highway Patrol Sgt. Lacie L. Wickum, 24/7 Sobriety Coordinator for the state of Montana.

It has taken a lot of work to get it to run smoothly since the first discussions in 2016, they both said during an interview Friday.

The 24/7 program is a statewide program through the Montana Attorney General’s office with Wickum traveling through the state to help support local governments with the startup and operation of the program. She said she helps train and provide assistance, acting as a liaison between Intoxitrack, the state data management system used, and each test site.

Back in 2016, Rocky Boy Reservation met for the first time concerning the 24/7 Sobriety Program, wanting to implement a new tool to aid the court systems as well as help those who are struggling with their sobriety on the reservation, Wolf Chief said. One of the benefits to this program is that the program acts as a jail diversion, giving a new option for those who are charged with a violent crime the option to participate in the program.

Since it has been implemented, seven people have become involved in the program. Wolf Chief and Wickum said they have seen great improvements and with the participants believe that the program is successful.

The program helps people and holds them accountable, giving them time to develop sober habits, Wickum said. People in the program are required to come in twice a day for testing. If a person tests positive for alcohol or drug use they will be required to sit and wait for additional testing and receive an immediate sanction, usually jail with a second positive.

“That … consequence of going to jail immediately is enough for them to not drink,” Wickum said. “That accountability is huge and helps people develop, gives them time to develop. … We have seen many lives change.”

The 24/7 program is free for on-reservation residents. This is to promote the options of the program and to encourage those who need it to be available to afford it, Wolf Chief said. Probation officers will require all DUI offenders a minimum of 90 days on the program.

He continued that they are discussing creating a DUI court within the reservation as well as bringing in Mothers Against Drunk Driving, Wolf Chief said, adding that  not much education about drinking and driving is available for residents of the reservation.

Because the program is statewide, participants are given some freedom to travel, after consulting with their probation officers and locating another testing center, Wickum said.

Participants can still go to many parts of the state for periods of time, still having to test twice a day in these secondary locations, although these secondary locations will charge $2 a test.

Wolf Chief said they have already seen instant results from the program and he is very proud of how it is influencing the Rocky Boy community. He said this is not set up to be punishment, but to help members of the community with their own sobriety and their lives.

In the past the 24/7 Sobriety Program has shown to be a benefit in many communities, Wickum said, citing a study done by RAND Corp. in 2015 that showed a 45 percent to 70 percent reduction in DUI recidivism. The program overall has benefits for the individuals and the county as well as the state. It allows participants to interact with their communities and the state saves by not paying the $60 to $100 per day to keep them incarcerated, she said.

“There isn’t any other program like this, that manages everyone’s information through one site,” she said. “Besides test results, it houses financial information and history.”

She said what is unique about the reservation is that Rocky Boy’s information is not shared with the rest of the state and remains sovereign, although information will be shared with other testing centers if the participants travel. This is done to maintain as much privacy to those who are in the program, while maintaining state compliance.

Many other programs confine people to the reservation and prevent participants from traveling, with this program they will be able to talk to their probation officers to organize a trip.

Wolf Chief also said it is very difficult to cheat on the test. During the Breathalyzer testing an officer is present during the testing, as well as other testing methods that might be used if the testing officer suspects that it is needed.

Wolf Chief added that during the winters or treacherous weather where travel within the reservation may be too dangerous, officers, on a case-by-case basis, may be accommodating to participants in the program, either postponing the test or having an officer come to the participant’s residence to provide testing.

For those who fail, the punishment is meant to be swift and immediate, Wickum said, but not meant to be a harsh sentence.

Wolf Chief said the first sanction is 12 hours in jail, the second sanction is 24 hours, the third sanction 72 hours and after that the case goes back to the court for failure to abide by the program.

Wickum said that this program may not be meant for everybody, some refuse to stop drinking, and this program is just the newest tool to help those who are struggling.

The program is growing, Wickum and Wolf Chief agree and they said they are both hopeful on the long-term impact that this program may have on the Rocky Boy Community.

Wolf Chief said Rocky Boy is not special when it comes to people who abuse alcohol, and the program — his “baby” — has shown success in the past with other communities.This is just his community taking a new approach to a serious problem, he added.