The challenge
People with addiction were cycling through jail without getting treatment.
The case
The first US drug court opened in Miami in 1989, and there are now thousands. Instead of standard prosecution, eligible defendants enter supervised treatment with regular drug tests and court appearances, with rewards and sanctions, and charges are dropped or reduced if they complete the program. Meta-analyses of many evaluations find adult drug courts reduce reoffending on average, with the best-run courts producing the largest effects. A meta-analysis of 154 evaluations found the average effect of adult drug court participation was analogous to recidivism dropping from 50% to 38%, lasting up to three years.
Why it worked
Combining treatment with close, consistent supervision works better than either prison or unsupervised treatment. Results vary widely, so following proven practice matters.
Sources
- Mitchell, O., et al. (2012). Assessing the effectiveness of drug courts on recidivism: A meta-analytic review of traditional and non-traditional drug courts. Journal of Criminal Justice.
- Mitchell, O., Wilson, D. B., Eggers, A., & MacKenzie, D. L. (2012). Assessing the effectiveness of drug courts on recidivism: A meta-analytic review of traditional and non-traditional drug courts. Journal of Criminal Justice.
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