Drug Court
♦ The alternative to incarceration
History
 How and why the experiment evolved
Main Features of Drug Court
 Cooperation within the adversarial system
Results
 Providing help and lowering recidivism
Answering any questions
History
♦ Treatment court began in
the early 1990s.
♦ Drug court was a grass
roots movement.
♦ Now drug court is
supported by local/federal
governments.
♦ The goal is to break the
cycle of crime and
addiction.
Arrest
Jail
Re-use
Release
The Overwhelmed Criminal
Justice System
♦ Drug laws expanded.
♦ Penalties increased mandatory
minimum sentences for certain
offenses.
♦ 1000% increase in the number of
inmates over the past 30 years.
The War on Drugs
% of
Drug
Arrests
All other
arrests
1970
% of
Drug
Arrests
All other
arrests
1990
♦ In 1970, when the drug war began, arrests for
drug offenses were 8% of the total.
♦ By the end of the 1990s, the percentage of
drug arrests were 64%.
The Facts
♦ Statistics
Maintaining each prisoner
costs approximately
$30,000 / yr.
2/3 of arrested adults and
more than ½ of juveniles
test positive for at least
one illicit drug.
NY state spends over
$200 million annually to
incarcerate drug
offenders.
♦ Results
3 of each 10 prisoners
released in 1998 from
15 states were
rearrested
2/3 were rearrested in
3 years
95% were found to
have relapsed in
substance abuse
within 3 years.
Main Features of Drug Court
♦ Dramatic intervention from by a team
of legal and clinical professionals.
♦ Client participation in treatment is
exchanged for a reduced sentence or
dismissal of charges.
♦ An agreement is created to outline the
rules of participation.
Success Spread Very Rapidly
In 1989 the first Drug Court was founded in Miami, Florida.
1800
1600
1400
1200
There were only 12
drug courts in 1994,
now there are over
1600!
1000
800
600
400
200
0
1994
2005
Treatment Is An Intense Regimen
♦
♦
♦
♦
♦
Treatment
Individualized case management
Supervised drug testing
Regular appearances before the judge
Professional review of participants’
cases before each court date
Eligibility
♦ Legal eligibility is determined through
negotiation between the defense, the
prosecutor and the court.
♦ Clinical eligibility is determined by
treatment professionals who screen to
determine the appropriate level of care.
Participation is Voluntary
♦ The decision to enter treatment court is
made by each client in consultation
with their attorney.
♦ Those who decline are free to litigate
their cases.
Completing Treatment
♦ Abstinence from substances.
♦ Enrollment in employment,
education or training program.
♦ Participant under court
supervision for a specified
period of time.
Essential Features of Drug
Courts
♦ Non adversarial
Shared goal is successful recovery of
clients.
♦ Early identification of participants
♦ Continuum of services
♦ Regular drug testing
Coordinated Strategy
♦ Meetings of the treatment court team
before interactions with participants.
♦ Sanctions and Incentives
Given publicly by the court in response to
clients’ progress.
Drug Court as Classroom and
Theatre
♦ Rewards
Phase advancements
Certificates
Coupons
Applause
♦ Graduated
Sanctions
Essays
Court observance
Intensified treatment
Remand to prison
Judicial Interaction
♦ Interaction with the judge is essential
Graduates point to their interaction with
judges as vital
Participants remain in the courtroom
until the session is completed
Decision to Enter Treatment is
VoluntaryVoluntary Admission
♦ Court supervision
dramatically increases
retention rates.
♦ Past 90 days, treatment
outcomes improve in
direct relationship to
length of time in the
program.
100%
90%
80%
70%
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
Don't arrive
for intake
Drop out in
3 months
Drop out in
1 year
Results of
Voluntary
Admission
Treatment Court Success
♦ 350,000 clients have participated
Clients have a program retention
rate of 67-71%
Statistics demonstrate reductions in
recidivism over 40%
Lowering Recidivism
100%
Average U.S.
Rates of
Recidivism
50%
0%
Gradutes 4%
Non-Graduates 48%
♦ In New York City at least 45% of non-participants will
recidivate with a similar offense within 2-3 years.
♦ Recidivism for N.Y. Drug Court participants in 5-25%.
♦ Recidivism for graduates is between 4-8%.
The Cost Benefit
Cost Comparison
$20,000
$18,000
$16,000
$14,000
$12,000
$10,000
$8,000
$6,000
$4,000
$2,000
$0
Treatment $ / Yr.
Prison $ / Yr.
♦ Savings
estimates
New York: $254
million
California: $43
million
Washington
state: $6,700 /
client
Oregon: $10
save for every
dollar spent
Other Benefits
♦ 3,000 drug free babies are born to
participants
♦ 80% of treated juvenile participants have
returned to or remained in school
♦ Thousands of mentally ill receive proper
medication
♦ Job training
♦ Reuniting of families
Expanding drug court
♦ Drug courts have had tremendous success
in American metropolitan areas
♦ The model is now being applied to:
Juveniles
Drug abusing parents at risk of losing custody of
children
Drunk drivers
Mentally ill
Released prisoners
Treatment courts globally
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Canada
Ireland
Scotland
Australia
Brazil
Puerto Rico
Jamaica
Virgin Islands
Courts are being planned in
many Latin American and
European Countries
We are ready to help in anyway
possible.