What are the phases of drug court?

Drug courts usually employ a multiphased treatment process, generally divided into a stabilization phase, an intensive treatment phase, and a transition phase. The stabilization phase may include a period of AOD detoxification, initial treatment assessment, education, and screening for other needs.

What are the two approaches to drug court?

“There are generally two models for drug courts: deferred prosecution programs and post-adjudication programs. In a deferred prosecution or diversion setting, defendants who meet certain eligibility requirements are diverted into the drug court system prior to pleading to a charge.

What is the problem with drug courts?

To be fair, much of what ails drug courts is a product of larger, structural failures in the U.S. criminal justice and health care systems: the criminalization and routinely severe punishment of drug possession, the lack of health insurance and other ways to pay for quality care, the wariness of prosecutors who fear …

How effective are drug courts?

Most of the available studies found that drug court participation had at least a small effect on preventing recidivism. A meta-analysis found that, on average, drug courts reduced recidivism by 7.5\% (Lowenkamp et al., 2005).

How successful are drug courts?

In each analysis, the results revealed that Drug Courts significantly reduced re-arrest or reconviction rates by an average of approximately 8 to 26 percent, with the “average of the averages” reflecting approximately a 10 to 15 percent reduction in recidivism.

Is drug court worse than probation?

Although there was no statistically significant difference between participants in the drug court program and those on routine probation in terms of new arrests, drug court participants had a lower overall rate of technical violations with fewer drug violations in particular.

Do drug courts work findings from drug court research?

In an unprecedented longitudinal study that accumulated recidivism and cost analyses of drug court cohorts over 10 years, NIJ researchers found that drug courts may lower recidivism rates (re-arrests) and significantly lower costs.

Why do drug courts fail?

Why drug courts are not the answer?

Drug Courts Are Not the Answer: Toward a Health-Centered Approach to Drug Use finds that, while such courts have helped many people, they are not an appropriate response to drug law violations nor are they the most effective or cost-effective way to provide treatment to people whose only “crime” is their addiction.

What are the benefits of drug courts?

Drug courts help participants recover from addiction and prevent future criminal activity while also reducing the burden and costs of repeatedly processing low‐level, non‐violent offenders through the Nation’s courts, jails, and prisons.

What is the success rate of drug courts?

Today, Los Angeles County drug courts have an astounding success rate. Only about 10\% of those who graduate from the program go on to commit new offenses, as opposed to the 70\% of repeat offenders that go through “traditional” L.A. criminal courts.

How are drug courts different from regular criminal courts?

Drug courts emphasize a cooperative approach between the prosecutor, defendant and court, and they favor rehabilitation over jail. Successful completion of drug court programs can result in reduced charges or sentences, or dismissal of charges altogether.