A Public Health Approach Using Specialized Model Essay

Drug courts are problem solving courts that take a public health approach using a specialized model in which the judiciary, prosecution, defense bar, probation, law enforcement, mental health, social service, and treatment communities work together to help addicted offenders into long-term recovery. Drug courts began in 1989 in Florida, because it was assumed that people that had first time offenses with drugs, or low-level drug users could resist future drug use by this intervention than sending them to get locked up without any treatment. It was also assumed that the quicker treatments began after the initial arrest, the less time

I can’t speak for the entire State of Texas but Travis County drug court is making a positive impact on offenders’ lives. Two judges who manage Travis County’s drug court are directing addicts into a court supervised treatment program instead of incarceration. Drug courts like the one in Travis County have successfully handled nonaggressive defendants with drug and alcohol addictions. People who complete drug court programs rarely fall back into substance abuse. Per four drug-court judges surveyed, about 10 percent of program graduates commit new crimes. That’s a recidivism rate of one-fifth that of traditional probation programs. Which shows drug courts can ease the strain on congested penitentiaries and save taxpayer money. A study done by

Drug courts, and other recovery programs hold promise for retaining offenders involved with drugs in treatment services (SAMHSA, 2014, p.131-132). The first drug court formed in 1989 in Southern Florida. The change in the criminal justice system came when, tired of seeing the same offenders appear before the court under the same or similar charges. The group of professionals in Miami-Dade County combined drug treatment programs with criminal justice structure and authority of the judicial system (Franco, C. 2010). Since then, over 2,000 drug court programs have been adopted in communities across the country, though each court houses its own eligibility requirements, making it somewhat difficult to account for the success of drug courts as a

Drug Courts came about as a result of a backlogged court system and a steady, rapidly increasing prison population. Drug courts are a form of diversion that helps the offender through rehabilitation and the community through an increased sense of protection, which serves the best interest of everyone. Drug Courts are community based intermediate sanctions that incorporate treatment principles into the Criminal Justice System and divert drug offenders from traditional punishments of probation and prison. The objective of drug courts programs is to treat the underlying problems of addiction among drug offenders and eliminate participants’ future drug use and crime.

The regular way they deal with the drug problem and people getting caught with the drugs isn't working. All they do is charge them and send them to jail. That isn't teaching them anything. For one they aren't getting major consequences for it. Second they aren't getting any help from stopping the drugs. They basically just pay money and sit in a cell nothing getting taught to them how to stop or not getting punished for it. These people need help stopping so they can stop letting their families down and ruining their lives. The drug court is there for this purpose. It is there to help people that want to recover and get their lives together. This teaches people that what they have been doing is wrong and gets them on the right track. When people learn and go through this program it will decrease the number of crimes. This court is not a waste of money, this is a program that will gradually give people their lives and family back. I would say numbers of people would give their money to get their love ones back and out of drugs. With most people money is nothing when it comes to

Drug court is an alternative sentencing program to rehabilitate defendants who were arrested for selling, using and abusing drugs. Drug court is not set up like the traditional court system within the criminal justice system, it’s a court system that addresses several issues defendants are going through prior to being in the criminal justice system and it also help reduce court dockets within the system.

Florida started the national drug court movement in 1989 by creating the first drug court in the United States in Miami-Dade County. In the years since Florida pioneered the drug court concept, numerous studies have confirmed that drug courts significantly reduce crime, provide better treatment outcomes, and produce better cost benefits than other criminal justice strategies. Drug Court offers individuals facing criminal charges for drug use and possession an opportunity to enter a substance abuse recovery program in lieu of straight jail time. The requirements of Drug Court are strict because the road to recovery is not easy. A candidate is tested frequently, must attend substance abuse recovery meetings and make regular court appearances in order to abide by the requirements of Drug

The National Institute of Justice funds a unique Multi-Site Adult Drug Court Evaluation (Rossman et al., 2011). This evaluation occurs over a five-year period and analyzes the process, impact, and cost evaluation of drug courts from 29 various jurisdictions throughout the United States. Twenty-three drug courts in eight states, Georgia, Florida, and Illinois, New York, Pennsylvania, North and South Carolina, and Washington, are examined throughout the process. This evaluation only chooses certain drug courts, therefore how resources are being implemented, cost savings, and outcomes are only being examined at those drug courts, but what about the other drug court

In most cases, one of the main objectives of courts and the sentences they impose is that of rehabilitation. This is evidenced through a growing move in favour of a more holistic approach to justice, trying to address the issues which may have led to the crime, rather than just punishing the end result. One of the prime examples of this therapeutic approach to justice is the introduction of the Drug Court. Governed by the Drug Court Act 1998, the Drug court has both Local court and District court jurisdiction, and seeks to target the causes of drug-related criminal behaviour. It achieves this by ensuring that those who go through it receive treatment for their addictions, thereby reducing their propensity to reoffend, as many crimes are motivated by the need to satisfy addictions.

Drug Court is an example of drugs/alcohol intervention programs which monitors the movement of non-violent drug addicts in a well refined structured treatment programs to help them recover. I heard about drug court for the first time when we watched the movie in class. I think drug court gives drugs/alcohol offenders chances to redeem themselves by sending them to rehab and other services that will help make them better people within the period. Three reasons why I think drug courts are effective in a community.

Drug court is a court given responsibility to handle drug addicted offenders through comprehensive supervision, drug tests, treatment services, and immediate sanctions and incentives. Drug court offers individuals facing criminal charges for drug use and possession a chance to open up to a substance abuse recovery program instead of jail time. The requirements of drug court are strict because staying clean or off of drugs is a hard road to stay on. A person on drug court is tested frequently, they must attend substance abuse recovery meetings and make regular court appearances in order to abide by the requirements of drug court. Drug court programs bring the full weight of all interveners (judges, prosecutors, defense counsel, substance abuse

Our textbook describes the two general types of drug courts as pretrial diversion, and post adjudication (Schmalleger & Smykla, 2015, p 132). Reading the section on drug courts one might conclude drug courts are the greatest thing since sliced bread. However, I attest this is not the truth. I have personally seen the effects of drug courts, and they simply do not work.

Drug courts have historically been the preferred way to treat drug users/offenders. What are the requirements for an offender who participates in drug court? How does this differ from the LEAD program?

This report was done at Columbia University’s National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) and talks about the drug court model. This report explains that some drug courts evolved from other existing programs that focused on reducing drug use for offenders. Although the drug court is different than other programs that are meant to reduce drug use. In the drug court model, criminal justice components and substance abuse treatments work together to promote abstinence and prosocial behavior. Drug courts also result in closer and more intensive supervision and drug tests, court appearances, and treatment contacts are much more frequent than any other forms of probation. The key goals of most drug courts are to reduce drug use by engaging

Currently, drug courts have been proven to be successful at reducing recidivism of offenders. In the United States there are about 120,000 people receiving help in order to rehabilitate them and to try to reduce the chances of recidivism (Office of National Drug Control Policy, 2011). These programs require individuals to participate in the programs for a minimum of one year. During this year the individuals are required to appear in court and be drug tested at