Newport officials:

The Newport Beach City Council is scheduled to vote tonight on whether to oppose a state ballot measure that would steer more people convicted of drug-related crimes into treatment instead of serving time behind bars.

City officials including Police Chief John Klein and Councilman Keith Curry said Proposition 5 would siphon more recovering drug addicts into Newport’s numerous sober-living homes through state alternative sentencing programs.

“It would further drive demand for residential recovery and further impact our community in terms of the number of people seeking treatment,” Curry said.

The councilman is calling for the City Council to pass a resolution opposing Proposition 5, which will be on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Proposition 5, or the Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation Act, would broaden the scope of Proposition 36, passed by California voters in 2000. Proposition 36 allowed nonviolent drug offenders to attend treatment in lieu of incarceration.

Proposition 5 would expand drug treatment programs for inmates to ease the state’s overcrowded prison system, reduce some penalties for marijuana possession and reform parole laws.

The ballot measure would not draw convicted drug offenders to Newport Beach because most addicts stay in their own communities to get treatment, said Margaret Dooley-Sammuli, deputy campaign manager for Yes on Prop 5. The proposition would also help alleviate prison overcrowding and help prevent crime by rehabilitating drug offenders, she said.

“There’s no migration to one community. Every county receives its own money,” Dooley-Sammuli said. “We know that treating the underlying problem of drug addiction and often mental illness is a very effective way to prevent crime.”

Proposition 5 also would provide funding for the treatment of drug- and alcohol-addicted teenagers, who frequently become adult lawbreakers, Dooley-Sammuli said.

“These are folks that already live in the community,” she said. “I think we would all prefer they be in treatment.”

Newport Beach has become a battleground for issues surrounding drug treatment since the council passed a controversial ordinance in January to regulate sober-living homes in the city.

“If cities like Newport can pull together with other cities in California on this, that is going to be the best chance for communities to address the issue,” said citizen activist Denys Oberman, who opposes Proposition 5.

Oberman leads the group Concerned Citizens for Newport Beach, which has lobbied city officials to enact more stringent laws to govern drug-rehabilitation homes in Newport.

The chief of police has voiced his support for an anti-Proposition 5 resolution.

“Proposition 5 is universally opposed by organizations representing rank-and-file police chiefs, prosecutors and parole supervisors,” Klein noted in a written report to the council. “Addicts sent to treatment with no accountability for attending and participating will fail in significant numbers resulting in increased levels of crime.”

BRIANNA BAILEY may be reached at (714) 966-4625 or at [email protected].