Drug Court Recidivism

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Drug Court Effectiveness and Recidivism of Participants According to the results from the 2013 Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring II (ADAM II) survey (2014), between two-thirds and three-quarters of all adults males arrested were at risk for drug dependence; as few as one-quarter had sought any type of treatment for drug or alcohol use. (p. xiv). Traditionally, the criminal justice system focused on enforcement and incarceration to reduce drug-related crime, but recidivism has remained high. An alternative theory utilizing treatment-based drug courts was developed in Miami-Dade, Florida the early 1990’s that introduced treatment interventions into the adjudication process. Michigan has been a pioneer in the drug treatment court movement. There are currently 84 drug treatment courts in Michigan, consisting of 32 adult drug courts, 23 DWI courts, 15 juvenile drug courts, 11 family dependency courts, and three tribal healing-to-wellness courts. (Michigan One, 2014) I participate in a local drug court serving Mecosta and Osceola Counties.
Currently, there are over 2800 drug courts operating in the United States. These specialized courts offer a problem-solving court-based program that targets criminal offenders who
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Drug courts exist on the basis of preventing future crime. Imagine if you were leaving work today and were approached by a drug-addicted offender who had just been released from jail without receiving treatment. Chances are, the offender would be drug seeking and attempting to fund a drug purchase and might attack you to steal your wallet and cell phone. As the victim, you might seek medical treatment, suffer financial harm, loss of communication, possibly time off from work, and even more time filing a police report and attending court hearings. If the offender was participating in a drug court, they may have the proper support to fight their addiction and cause you no harm, leaving you to go home

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