Zero Tolerance Program (ZTP) is a drug testing program in Oakland County which can spare a Defendant a lengthy stay in the Oakland County Jail. Any individual convicted of a non violent felony or misdemeanor charge which allows for jail time, and who does not have 2 assaultive felonies over the past 10 years, is eligible. The purpose of the Zero Tolerance Program is to provide an incentive for individuals to live drug free and to be held accountable for relapse.
Typically, if the Judge elects to sentence a person to the Zero Tolerance Program he or she will suspend all or a portion of the jail sentence to allow the Defendant to participate in the Zero Tolerance Program. The Defendant must go into custody initially in order to be drug tested and to go through an orientation class at the Oakland County Jail before being placed in ZTP. The time from sentencing to release (if the Judge allows immediate participation into the Zero Tolerance Program) is usually anywhere from a couple of hours to sometime the following day. If the sentencing Judge does not provide for participation in ZTP, the Defendant will not otherwise be allowed into the program. If the Defendant does not have any issues involving drugs or alcohol, he or she is not likely to receive the benefit of ZTP at the time of sentencing.
The Defendant is required to drug and/or alcohol test as directed (which is usually a random testing schedule) and pay a $15 fee for each drug urine test and a $4 fee for each alcohol PBT test. As long as the Defendant tests when ordered and tests negative, he or she remains free. Failure to test or a dirty drug or alcohol test automatically leads to a jail sentence. The amount of jail time for a first violation is usually short, but the time increases with each subsequent violation. Three or more violations or an attempt to submit fraudulent samples to avoid testing positive usually results in the balance of the suspended jail time being served by the Defendant.
The imposition of the Zero Tolerance Program is not contingent upon the Defendant receiving probation as part of his or her sentence. ZTP can run concurrent with most other sentencing programs and conditions that the Judge feels appropriate. Defendants that receive both a probationary sentence and a suspended jail sentence for participation in the Zero Tolerance Program face jail sanctions for violations of the requirements of the Zero Tolerance Program as well as the possibility of having to face the sentencing Judge for a violation of probation. At a violation of probation, the sentencing Judge is limited on by the maximum sentence allowable by law.
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