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Drug Court Case Study

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In 1989, officials in Miami-Dade County, Florida established the nation’s first drug court. This special court was designed to bring drug treatment more fully into the criminal justice system, treating offenders with a history of drug abuse for their addiction, while simultaneously ensuring supervision, and sanctions when needed, from the courts. The movement for an alternative court to sentence drug offenders emerged from the rapidly evolving reality that the nation’s decision to address drug abuse through law enforcement mechanisms would continue to pose significant challenges for the criminal court system. In 2004, 53% of persons in state prison were identified with a drug dependence or abuse problem, but only 15% were receiving professional …show more content…

(http://www.sentencingproject.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/Drug-Courts-A-Review-of-the-Evidence.pdf) Since 1989 the number of Drug Courts have risen significantly due to the realization of the need for treatment with offenders that have a history of drug abuse. There is a total of 3,133 drug courts in the United States today with 1,561 of them being solely adult drug courts. (http://www.ndcrc.org/content/how-many-drug-courts-are-there). The drug court movement reflects the desire to shift the emphasis from attempting to combat drug crimes by reducing the supply of drugs into addressing the demand for drugs through the treatment of addiction. Drug courts use the criminal justice system to address addiction through a set of social and legal services instead of solely relying upon sanctions through incarceration or probation which have been shown to not be …show more content…

TASC began during the 1970s as a criminal justice effort in response to the rise of substance-involved offenders revolving through the criminal justice system. TASC is considered to be a type of probation that is closely monitored. Under “regular” probation, a conviction can stay on your record forever. However, under TASC an individual who completes the program will be eligible for the charge to be lowered or completely dropped. Understanding the differences between drug, TASC and regular probation is important because it can mean the difference between having a clean record or being permanently labeled with a criminal conviction. Just as in the drug court system TASC applicants will undergo an assessment to see if he/she is eligible for the program. Three main aspects to ensure eligibility are the person must be 18yrs. or older, have current non-violent offense charges and must have substance use disorders that require clinical intervention. The offenders must be willing to enter treatment for a minimum of 12-18 months to participate. If a person is found eligible than the TASC case management system can track and assist the person through the complete criminal justice process. The TASC program is very individualized and includes a detailed assessment and development of a written plan designed to address the treatment needs of each individual. At this point

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Using juvenile drug court as an alternative to incarceration to decrease the rapidly increasing number of young offenders is a policy that includes various key concepts that one must understand. To start, juvenile drug courts are mostly voluntary. While some juvenile drug courts are mandated, this aspect has not motivated a vast majority of these courts to follow suit. Therefore, these programs are designed to keep youth from using any type of substance. These juveniles are obviously involved in this type of program due to their substance use/abuse issues.

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For offenders with drug abuse problems, planning should incorporate the transition to community-based treatment and links to appropriate post-release services to improve the success of drug treatment and reentry. Abstinence requirements may necessitate a rapid clinical response, such as more counseling, targeted intervention, or increased medication, to prevent relapse. Ongoing coordination between treatment providers and courts or parole and probation officers is important in addressing the complex needs of these re-entering

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The prisoners that have struggled with drugs are place in a pre-released program to prepare them for their release. I think the justice system hands are tied a little bit to maintain the prisons and community well

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The creation of drug courts has had many positive effects on millions of lives and has helped with keeping certain familiar faces out of court. Though due to are countries fiscal crisis many programs have been cut or expansion has ceased. The criminal justice systems cost roughly 70 billion annual on the corrections system which is because of over reliance on incarceration. Instead of spending so much to increate people the courts could be sending them to reform programs that end

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The first drug court was established in Miami-Dade, Florida in 1989. Drug courts were established because of the “revolving door of drug use” and increasing recidivism rates. Drug courts have the ability to change a person’s life for the better by teaching them how to beat their addictions while providing the proper treatments for each offender. As a result, of the ongoing development of drug courts it is unfair to expect the system to be indefectible. Still, there are many benefits in participating in the drug court system.

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While experiencing a drug court they may get fines and drug programs they have to finish. They will choose the kind of court when sentenced, this relies on upon how much drugs they possess. The purpose for the drug courts and drug programs is restoration for drug users was costly; they implemented these programs to offer assistance.

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Local probation departments can impose their rules quicker and more flexible than larger probation departments such as state and federal departments (Siegel & Bartollas, 2014). However, a larger probation department has more resources in acquiring funds for their objectives than smaller departments  (Virlee, 2015).   The problem associated with larger probation departments are guidelines that are created and implemented among the probationers are sometimes unrealistic due to the negligence it has with a variety of offenders and the guidelines don't meet the requirements for each

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There are two theories of drug court that not has been proven, but has led to further discussion on the topic. The participants in drug court are predominately Caucasians and African Americans. Drug court participants are made up of 62% Caucasians, 21% African American, 10% Hispanic or Latinos and 5% of other racial groups throughout the US. The first theory of drug court was based on research that drug court offenders are more likely to have positive results related to graduation and recidivism.

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The current system that incarcerates people over and over is unsustainable and does not lower the crime rate nor encourage prisoner reformation. When non-violent, first time offenders are incarcerated alongside violent repeat offenders, their chance of recidivating can be drastically altered by their experience in prison. Alternative sentencing for non-violent drug offenders could alleviate this problem, but many current laws hinder many possible solutions. Recently lawmakers have made attempts to lower the recidivism rates in America, for example the Second Chance Act helps aid prisoners returning into society after incarceration. The act allows states to appropriate money to communities to help provide services such as education, drug treatment programs, mental health programs, job corps services, and others to aid in offenders returning to society after incarceration (Conyers, 2013).

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In the 1970s the United States entered the era known as mass incarceration, the byproduct of the drug war. The War on Drugs changed how society handled drug dependency, diverting the problem from public health to criminal justice. Since the Nixon administration, the political stance on being tough on crime has resulted in various laws and policing practices that heavily criminalized drugs to point in which the prison population in the United States increased from 300,000 people in 1972 to 2.3 million today (Barish, DuVernay, Averick & DuVernay, 2016). The epidemic of mass incarceration corresponds to a variety of public health issues such as mental illness, increased violence within society, increased incidence of addictions, and increased incidence of chronic illnesses (Drucker, 2013).

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Only 18.3% (337,882) were for the sale or manufacture of a drug” (p. 23). Therefore, the individuals who are likely to enter the already overcrowded prisons may be users and the actual not distributors themselves. Thus, prison space that is intended to be reserved for murders and sexual predators is instead being occupied by substance

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Specialized Courts Specialized courts are commonly known as the problem-solving courts that promote positive reinforcement, support behavior modification, decrease victimization, and reduce recidivism. Examples of specialized courts include drug court and mental health courts. A community might benefit from establishing a specialized court such as a drug court because it follows a comprehensive model that concentrates on reducing criminal actions through treatment and rehabilitation services with the focus being on substance abuse addiction and identifying the cause without jeopardizing public safety and due process (Specialized Courts, 2013).

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This leads to the question of whether the justice system is doing an adequate job of dealing with drug addiction. Instead of incarcerating people for drug abuse, an alternative is treating victims by rehab and treatment. This paper will exam why treatment is the superior option for

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